Overview

• Dani Dyer posted the first photo of her fractured ankle and said it has been an emotional week as she recovers after withdrawing on medical advice.
• Drafted in with under 48 hours’ notice, Davies and partner Nikita Kuzmin scored 27 for a Waltz on the first live show, placing near the top of the leaderboard.
• Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas each awarded sevens, while Anton Du Beke gave a six, a gap some commentators framed as optics-focused scoring.
• Davies responded to reports she was previously turned down for being too experienced by stating she has never met the Strictly team, and a BBC spokesperson said the current team has no record of such meetings.
• On It Takes Two, Davies and Kuzmin said West End experience aided musicality but not ballroom technique, and they are now preparing a week‑two samba after what they described as a crash‑course start.