Is this 'Strictly's' strongest semi-final line-up ever? Find out who's still in the running to win

Strictly Come Dancing has lined up one of its strongest final fives ever, with judges’ favourite Ashley Roberts just scraping into the semi-final.

The contest was too close to call on Saturday night as every couple scored 35 or above, but actor Charles Venn was the unlucky celebrity to be voted out at the quarter-final stage as he went up against Roberts.

It was her second week running in the dance off with Pasha Kovalev – the show’s fans have started to tire of seeing the former Pussycat Doll top the leaderboard every time, complaining about her advantage from years working as a dancer.

Even Craig Revel Horwood weighed in on the debate ahead of the dance off, telling Roberts: “This isn’t your dance genre at all, and I think you’re amazing the way you’ve picked it up.”

Meanwhile, Faye Tozer scored a perfect 40, Stacey Dooley and Joe Sugg have been adding to their collections of 10s from the judges, and Lauren Steadman has a huge number of fans who save her from the bottom two each week, despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard.

The judges were unanimous in their decision to save Roberts for her Quickstep to Don’t Rain on My Parade over Venn and Karen Clifton’s Rumba to Maria in Musicals Week.

Venn thanked his family for his support during the series, adding: “I have to pay extreme homage to this woman here, because Karen Clifton turned me into a promising dancer.

“This woman has been by my side and supported me, she’s been strict, she’s been solid, she’s been caring and loving, sensitive and intuitive, and I’m adamant that without her I don’t know how I would have got to this level.”

Clifton said: “You have been the most humble, the most professional person who I have ever worked with.

“Thank you for always respecting me as a woman, as a friend, and as a teacher, and I will never forget this journey that we had together.”

Venn and Clifton had endured their fair share of dance offs before their number was finally up, but now that Roberts is becoming a regular in the bottom two, the other couples must be feeling the strain.

With her perfect routines and high judges’ scores, is there anyone that would be chosen over Roberts in the dance off?

Next week, she’ll be up against viewer favourite Dooley, accomplished dancer Tozer, and Sugg and Steadman with their hordes of fans, with all five celebs hoping to make it to the final.

Sunday’s results show continued the musicals theme, including a pro group dance featuring Aladdin star Trevor Dion Nicholas and a musical performance from Adam Lambert singing We Will Rock You.

Lambert’s performance had an added frisson of excitement for viewers as it included a dance routine from husband-and-wife pair Neil and Katya Jones, who hit headlines earlier in the series when Katya was spotted kissing her celebrity dance partner Seann Walsh.

Strictly Come Dancing’s semi-final is on Saturday, December 8 at 6.35pm on BBC One.

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