Strictly's Sara and Alijaz axed as judges save Tilly and Nikita after dance-off

Strictly Come Dancing couple Sara Davies and Aljaz Skorjanec have become the latest pair to be eliminated from the BBC One show.

The Dragons’ Den star 37, and her professional partner faced Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin in the dance-off following the public vote.

Social media star Tilly and Nikita also landed in the bottom two the previous week against Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and Katya Jones, but they were saved by the judges for a second time.

Sara and Alijaz danced their Argentine tango to No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand again in the dance-off, but it was not enough to save them from being booted out of the competition.

Nikita and Tilly, who celebrated her 20th birthday during the week, were saved unanimously by the judges after they performed their quickstep to I Won’t Dance by Damita Jo.

Juddge Craig Revel Horwood said: “This is a really difficult decision because I gave both couples on Saturday night a 7.

“So very, very equal, which made the decision even more difficult, but I think for me, the couple that stood out a little bit more and had the edge – Tilly and Nikita.”

Motsi Mabuse also chose to save Tilly and Nikita after basing the dance-off on three factors which she described as “details, the nerves and a very strong competitor”.

Anton Du Beke remarked on the standard of the competition this series, saying: “I think if you were ever choosing to do Strictly Come Dancing, this is the year to avoid.

“The standard is so high and either of these couples could have made it to the final any other year.

“Based on this dance-off and this dance-off alone, which was so strong, I’m just going to give the edge to Tilly and Nikita.”

Tilly and Nikita had already won the majority vote but head judge Shirley Ballas agreed that she had decided to save the pair as well.

When asked about her experience on the show, entrepreneur Sara said: “I had no idea any of this was in me. It’s been a life-changing experience and one I’ve loved every second of.”

Alijaz had high words of praise for Sara’s work ethic and welcoming nature and said he would not have wanted to dance with anyone else.

The pro dancer added: “You have been an absolute joy and a testament to hard work – not just on Strictly but with your business and you’re a beautiful mother.

“Thank you for letting me spend so much time not just with you, but with the whole family, the Davieses that are here tonight, all of the little ones at home.

“I’ve been so welcomed up north, it made me feel like I’m back home in Slovenia because everyone is so lovely and friendly.

“I’m going to miss you so much. I’m going to miss dancing with you.

“I’m going to miss everything about this show. Thank-you everyone and thank-you for supporting us.”

Sarah replied that Alijaz is “one in a million” and she credited him for making her Strictly experience what it was.

Strictly’s results show opened with an emotional dance from the professionals in honour of Remembrance Sunday and singer James Blunt performed his hit song Goodbye My Lover.

Saturday’s live show saw some historic moments as Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu topped the leaderboard with a perfect score of 40 for their Charleston, which they were told was the earliest anyone had received this mark for that particular dance.

Rose Ayling-Ellis also performed an emotional couple’s choice dance with Giovanni Pernice which had a silent moment where the music stopped but they continued to dance, in honour of the deaf community. They scored 39 out of 40.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday night on BBC One

For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk