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Strictly star Shaun Wright-Phillips' routine branded "disaster" as judges deliver brutal verdict

"Disaster, darling."

Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alex Warr on Strictly Come Dancing Week Five.

BBC Pictures / Guy Levy

Published: Saturday, 24 October 2026 at 8:22 pm

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It’s Week Five on Strictly Come Dancing tonight, and although Delta Goodrem is making her return after missing Icons Week due to an injury, it’s not smooth sailing for the rest of the 2026 cast.

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Performing the Jive to "Faith" by Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande was former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Strictly pro Alexis Warr. However, it appears their routine failed to impress the judges.

After they received their rounds of applause, Shaun and Alexis stepped towards the judges to be met with Anton Du Beke beginning with: "We had a lovely jive, they just weren’t doing the same one together."

Shaun admitted "It was me". To which Du Beke replied a witty but rather harsh response "Oh, I know it was you my love."

Shaun and Alexis did laugh it off, but these remarks were just the beginning for the Strictly stars, as Craig Revel Horwood summed it up simply for the pair: "Disaster, darling."

Craig Revel-Horwood on Strictly Come Dancing.

Craig Revel-Horwood has some thoughts on the "grinding". BBC

Of course, this was met with an uproar of boos from the audience, but Craig continued in his comments: "The timing was completely out, the kicks were sloppy… there was no real saving it I’m afraid."

But, in a change of pace, Motsi Mabuse had a more positive spin on the performance, recognising that Wright-Phillips comes from such a different profession. "I see that you are giving every week your utmost."

Despite the lacklustre performance, Motsi also went on to acknowledge Shaun’s potential off the pitch and on the ballroom floor, with his noticeable improvements from Week One.

Finally, Shirley Ballas also went on to praise his co-ordination which comes from his football background, but finish with: "There was a lot of mistakes today, but you know there’s always next week."

When the scores finally came, the pair received a 3 from Craig, a 5 from Motsi, a 3 from Shirley and a 6 from Anton, making up for a total score of 17.

Although the result is disappointing, with the audience vote there is still chance for the pair to stay in for next week’s Halloween special! Learn how to cast your vote here.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 1 November at 6:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

Add Strictly Come Dancing to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

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