Welsh Opera singer Wynne Evans and his professional dance partner Katya Jones have become the eighth pair to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing 2024.
Strictly Come Daning returned to Blackpool this weekend, a location that has been the hit BBC show's "second home" since 2004.
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri (and professional partner Aljaž Škorjane) once again topped the leaderboard in week nine with a score of 39.
While Sarah Hadland and her partner Vito Coppola, joined them at the top after the judges awarded them the same score for their routine on Saturday (November 16) night.
Pete Wicks produced the lowest score of the evening with 27 following his cha cha to I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred.
Saturday night also saw comedian Chris McCausland and professional dance partner Dianne Buswell become the 100th Strictly couple to perform in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
Wynne Evans eighth celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2024
Evans and Jones found themselves in the bottom two opposite former Olympian and Gladiators star Montell Douglas and her partner Johannes Radebe on Sunday (November 17) following the public vote.
The BBC Radio Wales presenter, who is known for the Go.Compare insurance advertisements, failed to impress the judges after redoing his Charleston routine in the dance-off during the Strictly results show.
The judges therefore unanimously voted to save Douglas, who performed a Salsa to Don’t Leave Me This Way by Thelma Houston.
Following the announcement, Evans said: "It’s been wonderful, I’ve got to say.
“I feel like it’s what Strictly is all about.
“If I can come and do Strictly and last until week nine, then anybody can get out there and dance and have a brilliant time.
“Strictly is such a brilliant family, such a precious family, that I want everybody here in this room and at home to look after it for the generations to come because it is a wonderful, wonderful thing."
“But to spend every weekday dancing has been just fantastic.
“I’ve grown so much and I’m so thankful to have met this person (Katya).”
All the Strictly Come Dancing winners over the years
Jones added: "To be honest with you, the smile hasn’t left my face since the first day of our training, since the day we got partnered up.
“You (Wynne) have made this experience so joyous and so full of laughter for me.
“I’m sure everybody was jealous because you’re the kind of guy that everybody wants in their life.
“You bring light, you bring laughter, you bring charisma, you fill up every room you walk into with those qualities.”
It hasn't been all smooth sailing for Evans and Jones during their time on Strictly.
The pair were forced to apologise back in week four of the show for a “joke” that saw Jones move Evans’s hand from her waist.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- The reason why Strictly has a Blackpool Tower Ballroom episode every series
- What were the scores on Strictly Come Dancing? See the Blackpool week leaderboard
Following the incident he said on his radio show that he was “absolutely heartbroken” by the backlash, and felt the moment had been “totally misinterpreted”.
Sunday's show also saw the Pet Shop Boys perform their new single All The Young Dudes, and the professional dancers do a sultry routine to Jacob Gade’s Jalousie tango.
The remaining seven couples will take to the dancefloor again next Saturday (November 23) when Strictly Come Dancing returns on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7.05pm.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here