Halloween ends in horror for Catherine Tyldesley
Catherine Tyldesley's biggest Strictly nightmare came true tonight as she became the fifth Celeb to leave the competition.
She performed a chilling Cha Cha Cha in Saturday night's Halloween special with Pro partner Johannes Radebe, which placed them second to last on the leaderboard with a score of 24.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough to save the couple, and once their score had been combined with the public vote, they found themselves in their first ever Dance Off. Catherine and Johannes faced Mike Bushell and his Pro partner Katya Jones, with their second round of performances dividing the Judges' opinions.
Both Motsi Mabuse and Bruno Tonioli opted to save Catherine and Johannes, but Craig Revel Horwood and Head Judge Shirley chose to keep Mike and Katya in the competition.
When placing the deciding vote, Shirley said: "Well, I thought both couples really stepped it up a notch and this is always the most difficult decision for me. But based on a good focus, difficult content, with some really beautiful footwork in there with stronger technical skills for me - cleaner and polished. I’m going to save Mike and Katya.”
Sadly, this sealed Catherine and Johannes' fate and sent them home immediately.
When reflecting upon her time on Strictly, Catherine praised her partner Johannes by saying: “He’s like my best friend. He’s just… just the opportunity to work with amazing people and get critiqued off amazing people. I never thought I’d say this - I’m going to keep it [dancing] up, because I fell in love with it! I’ve loved every second, this man [Johannes] has changed my life!”
Johannes also shared some fond words, saying: “The beautiful thing is that I need to thank Strictly Come Dancing for the opportunity."
"Most of all, I want to say thank you to this woman [Catherine]. She has been a light for me. Thank you for accepting me for who I am and for showing me joy every day. Thank you!”
They are both going to be so sorely missed on the dancefloor every Saturday night, but you can catch them together for one last time on Monday's It Takes Two, BBC Two at 6.30pm.
