Spooktacular! Louis Smith bags the first nines of the series as his terrifying zombie routine puts him on top of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard
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It's been a scary week for the Strictly dancers after Jerry Hall's shock exit last Sunday.
But most of the contestants upped their game for the terrifying Halloween theme this week, and none more so than heartthrob Louis Smith who bagged the first nines of the series.
The gymnast was left visibly shocked as he received nines from Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli after his spooky zombie Tango.
Terrifyingly good: Louis Smith and partner Flavia Cacace wowed the crowd with their spooky tango
The Olympian came top of the leaderboard with 35 points, impressing with his routine to Rihanna's Disturbia, which was described by Darcey as the 'best Tango of the night.'
'I wish the clocks could go back right now so I could have another look at that because it was fabulous,' said Len after his performance.
Louis wore a pair of scary contact lenses as he spun partner Flavia Cacace around the floor and was told that he'd really found his niche.
Scarily stylish: Louis admitted that he'd found his niche and was better at tango than ballroom
Best score of the series: Louis was visibly shocked as he bagged three nines from the judges
There was a turnaround in fortunes for both Michael Vaughn and Victoria Pendleton, who came joint second.
After suffering a wardrobe malfunction last week, Victoria looked scary as a corpse bride as she tangoed with Brenden Cole to Billy Idol's White Wedding.
She's had a difficult start to the competition, but the judges loved her routine, giving her a 31, making her joint second.
'This was a proper Tango,' said Len. 'It was sharp and crisp.The whole feeling of it was good.'
I'm enjoying it so much, it's still really nerve-wracking but I really want to stay in,' said Victoria.
Corpse bride: Victoria and Brendan dance to Billy Idol's White Wedding and come point top on the leaderboard
Going for it: Victoria goes crazy on the dancefloor and manages to impress all of the judges
Michael Vaughn, who was saved by the skin of his teeth last week, shocked everyone by getting a standing ovation after his routine.
The star worked his magic and impressed the judges, proving that ballroom was his forte.
'Last week you were this close to going and I'm so glad you didn't, because we wouldn't have seen this,' said Len.
'It was a miracle. I can't believe what we've just seen, it was really amazing,' admitted Bruno.
The cricketer surprised everyone by getting a 31, the second highest score of the night.
Turnaround: Michael Vaughn, who was in the bottom two, gets an amazing 31 from the judges
They loved it: The judges were surprisingly impressed with Michael's routine, after he found himself in the bottom two last week
Spooky magician: Michael weaves his magic as he take to the danceloor on Saturday night
Many of the other Strictly contestants stepped up their game this week as they embraced the frightening theme, with the scariest part perhaps being Bruce Forsyth's dance to Gangnam Style.
Dani Harmer, who admitted to having liposuction this week after being bullied by internet trolls, was first up with partner Vincent Simone.
Dancing the Cha Cha Cha to the Scooby Doo theme tune, the former child star dressed up as Velma, and Vincent as Fred, while Anton Du Beke popped up as the villain.
Denise Welch? Vincent is accused of looking like the Loose Woman as he danced the Cha Cha Cha with Dani Harman to Scooby Doo
Surprise guest: Anton Du Beke is revealed as the monster in a cameo during Dani's routine
Scores are in: Dani and her partner do well, gaining a respectable 27 from the judges
The judges seemed impressed with the dance, although Bruno Tonioli couldn't get over Vincent's blonde wig:
'I can't look at Vincent, he look's like Denise Welch from Loose Women,' he said.
While the judges had some constructive criticism, Darcey Bussell loved the dance:
'If you can dance that fast and achieve that many moves, then that's just fantastic,' she said.
Possessed matador: Richard Arnold gives a terrifying performance but gets mixed reviews from the panel
What a scream: Richard embraces his masculine matador image as he screams at the judges
Spooky: Brendan Cole is unrecognisable in his full face of make-up
Richard Arnold looked seriously ghoulish dressed as a matador as he danced a scary Spanish pasodoble with partner Erin Boa.
The judges had mixed opinions, with Bruno describing him as:
'Gary Numan in a bad temper.'
The showbiz journo only managed to pick up a mediocre 22 points, putting him towards the bottom of the leaderboard.
Audience favourite Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor, who are used to standing ovations, performed a Charleston to Witchcraft with the soap star dressed as a witch.
They might be used to rave reviews fro the judges, but Craig wasn't impressed:
'It was acted well, but danced poorly,' he said.
Frightening fun: Lisa Riley and partner Robin Windsor get mixed reviews after their bewitching routine to Witchcraft
Still riding high: Lisa beams after getting a reasonable score from the judges, despite facing some criticism
EastEnders star Sid Owen, who failed to impress the judges last week, had a tough week after partner Ola Jordan had to fly back to Poland for personal reasons.
The star had a bit of fun with his glitzy Ghostbusters routine, dancing the Cha Cha Cha, but the judges were less then happy with the routine.
Craig described the dance as a 'Halloween nightmare' while Len Goodman criticised the performance as being:
'Too safe, you need to go for it more and take risks. If you're going to go down, go down fighting,' he said.
I'm afraid of no ghost: Sid Owen embraced the Ghostbusters theme as he danced with Ola Jordan
Too safe: Sid is criticised for playing it safe and his routine is described as a 'Halloween nightmare'
Westlife's Nicky Byrne donned a pair of white glasses and a white doctor's coat as a mad scientist for his Weird Science routine with Karen Hauer.
He's had some bad scores in the past, but Nicky did better than expected this week, as Craig admitted that he liked the routine.
Mad scientist: Nicky Byrne cast his spell over his dance partner as he invokes a mad scientist for his routine
Mixed reviews: Nicky received differing opinions from the judges although did better than ever with the scores
Fern Britton and Artem Chigvintsev danced the American Smooth in ghoulish attire, which saw the TV queen sitting on a shiny throne.
Len was a bit disappointed, saying: 'Fern, I wanted a bit more from you.'
'It was all a bit too plain,' said Bruno. 'It didn't have the impact that it could have had.'
Gothic queen: Fern Britton dons an ethereal dress for her spooky performance
Mixed: The feedback for Fern's routine was mixed but the star had a great time
Denise Van Outen, who topped the leaderboard two weeks in a row, sported some crazy backcombed hair while using a saucy whip for her dance.
Described by Bruno as 'kinky and slinky', Denise did herself proud, despite admitting that she'd tripped three times, getting a 28 from the judges.
Not used to getting criticism, Len didn't seem too happy about Denise's short skirt:
'It you're going to wear a short skirt than you really need to have really fabulous leg action,' he said.
Green room: The stars watch the rest of the performers backstage in full fancy dress
Big hair scare: Denise Van Outen invokes the 1980s with backcombed hair for her routine
Scary style: Denise and her partner don't top the leaderboard this week
Colin Salmon was a wizard for his dance while partner Kristina Rihanoff was his cat.
Craig was critical of the routine, and Len suggested that the actor had made a major mistake, not that any of the audience noticed:
'There was a major incident, it wasn't just a little thing,' he said.
'The disco thing is my thing. I like clubbing,' admitted Colin before the scores came in.
Wizard: Colin gets a reasonable score as he dons a wizard outfit for his routine
High energy: Colin is praised for his acting, but not so much for his dancing
Kimberley Walsh embraced her innocent side as Little Red Riding Hood with a red wig and caper while her partner Pasha Kovalev dressed as a scary wolf.
'It was a very, very competent performance, but I'd like to have seen a tad more aggression here and there. At the beginning it was like you were going to Sainsbury's,' said Len.
Little Red Riding Hood: Kimberley Walsh looks vulnerable in a red cape at the beginning of her routine
What a wig: Kimberley opts for a red wig for her routine, impressing the judges
Wolf man: Pasha Kovalev adds some scary facial hair for his wolf man costume
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2224062/Spooktacular-Louis-Smith-bags-nines-series-terrifying-zombie-routine-puts-Strictly-Come-Dancing-leaderboard.html#ixzz2AXA0REzn
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