Strictly Come Dancing is making a big change for Halloween Week, with the BBC confirming that next Sunday’s results show will feature the first triple dance-off in the programme’s history. The twist was announced during Sunday night’s Week 5 results show, shortly after Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr were eliminated following a dance-off against Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. From next weekend, three couples rather than two will be at risk once the judges’ scores and public vote are combined.
The three couples with the lowest combined scores will all have to perform their routines again before the judges decide which pair should leave the competition. After the Halloween special, Strictly will return to its usual two-couple dance-off for the rest of the series.
The twist puts even more pressure on Halloween Week, with an extra couple now at risk when the votes are counted. It should make Sunday’s results a lot more nerve-racking than usual, especially for anyone hovering near the bottom of the leaderboard. For now, the triple dance-off is only confirmed for Halloween, so whether it ever comes back or disappears into the Strictly crypt after one spooky outing remains to be seen.
Sunday’s results show also saw Shaun Wright-Phillips become the fourth celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2026. He and Alexis Warr lost out to Jaime and Carlos after Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all voted to save Jaime, while Shirley Ballas chose to save Shaun.
For CultureCues, Halloween Week is already one of the most fun weekends on Strictly, so adding a triple dance-off should make the results even more tense. We’re very ready for the costumes, spooky routines and whatever else the show throws at us next weekend.
Strictly Come Dancing returns for Halloween Week on Saturday 31 October at 6:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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