Strictly Come Dancing said goodbye to its fourth couple on Sunday 25 October, as former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and his professional partner Alexis Warr were voted off the BBC One ballroom show after losing a dance-off to actress Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu.
The elimination was not the only talking point of the evening. The programme also announced that next weekend's Halloween special will feature the first triple dance-off in Strictly's history, a change that has already divided viewers and, one might add, sits oddly with a programme that spent two decades perfecting a formula nobody asked it to abandon.
How the dance-off unfolded
Wright-Phillips, 45, had finished at the bottom of the leaderboard after Saturday's live show, a weekend in which singer Delta Goodrem became the first celebrity of the series to score a perfect 10 and Tabby Stoecker racked up a near-perfect total of 37. That left the ex-Chelsea and Manchester City winger facing Winstone, 41, in the dance-off, with both couples already familiar with the uncomfortable business of dancing for survival. Winstone had survived the first bottom two of the series, while Wright-Phillips had previously been saved against actress Melanie Walters.
Each couple performed their routine again. Winstone and Gu reprised their Foxtrot to Man I Need by Olivia Dean, which had scored 25, while Wright-Phillips and Warr returned to their Jive to Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, which had managed only 17.
Judges Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse voted to save Winstone and Gu. Head judge Shirley Ballas backed Wright-Phillips and Warr, leaving the casting vote with Anton Du Beke, who chose to keep Winstone in the competition. The result means Wright-Phillips and Warr become the fourth couple to leave the 2026 series, while Winstone has now survived two dance-offs.
An emotional farewell
Wright-Phillips, a Premier League winner with Chelsea and a League Cup winner with Manchester City and Stoke, struggled to hold back tears as he reflected on his time in the competition.
I don't think I can put into words how my time has been. From the pros, the judges, the staff behind the cameras, everybody that's helped me along the way... It's been the most amazing journey I've had.
He thanked the programme for giving him the chance to learn how to dance, and paid warm tribute to his 26-year-old partner.
I couldn't have asked for a better partner. She knew how to deal with my mood swings, which isn't easy. I did have a lot of tough times, but you knew how to work with me. I wish I could've taken you further.
Warr, for her part, praised the footballer's resilience and character.
The resilience that this man has is so admirable. The gentleman that this man is, I feel so honoured to have had him as my partner.
There is something rather admirable in a sportsman who has won trophies at the highest level submitting himself, in his mid-forties, to the public indignity of a jive scored 17. Wright-Phillips leaves with his dignity intact, which is more than can be said for the format he leaves behind.
The triple dance-off: a twist too far?
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