Strictly Come Dancing 2023 live Strictly's dances revealed for semi finals as Nigel Harman is br

Crew members 'relieved' amid Nigel Harman exit

Strictly Come Dancing crew members were relieved following the exit of Nigel Harman, a source claims.

A TV insider said: “Nigel takes himself very seriously as a performer and throws himself heart and soul into things.

“So obviously he’s very emotional if things don’t go as he hoped. That often means that he can be like a bear with a sore head backstage.

“Viewers got a glimpse of that when he received disappointing scores for their quickstep in Blackpool.

“The crew and pros on the show are like a close family and the celebrities are welcomed into that. But if someone upsets that long-standing dynamic it can create bad feeling.

“Despite this everyone on the show also felt huge sympathy for Nigel having to leave the competition under such difficult circumstances.”

What happens to the scores from this week?

With no public vote or elimination this week due to Nigel Harman’s withdrawal, it was announced that the judges scores for the dances would be carried over to next week.

At the beginning of Saturday’s show, host Claudia Winkleman said: “As you can see we only have four couples. Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from the competition.

“That means there will be no public vote tonight and no elimination this weekend.”

In a post on Instagram on Saturday, the show wished Harman a “speedy recovery” and said the couple will be “very much missed by our entire Strictly family.”

Leaderboard after the weekends show:

Layton and Nikita – 40 points

Ellie and Vito – 36 points

Bobby and Dianne – 34 points

Annabel and Johannes – 33 points

Ellie Leach fave to win

Ellie Leach is the clear favourite to win this year's Strictly Come Dancing, according to Ladbrokes.

The bookies now have the Coronation Street star priced at just 2/7 to scoop the Glitterball Trophy, with Annabel Croft seemingly her only challenger for the crown at 4/1, while every other celeb is priced at 16/1 or bigger.

Elsewhere, it looks like it could be curtains for Nigel Harman this weekend, with the former EastEnders star currently favourite to be sent packing at 5/4.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Coronation Street fans will soon be celebrating Ellie Leach's success on the dancefloor, if the latest odds are anything to go by. She's fast becoming a shoo-in for this year's Glitterball Trophy."

He added: "It's misery for EastEnders fans, though, with Nigel and Bobby seemingly set to do battle for the boot this weekend."

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