John Nellis tops the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard
YouTube star John Nellis has impressed the Strictly Come Dancing judges.
John Nellis has topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard.
The 33-year-old YouTuber and Katya Jones, his professional partner, led the way with a routine that earned them 31 points from the Strictly judges.
Motsi Mabuse hailed their foxtrot as the "best dance of the night".
John and Katya were followed on the leaderboard by actress-turned-singer Delta Goodrem and her partner Kai Widdrington, who scored an impressive 29 points out of a possible 40.
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood was effusive in his praise of Delta's samba routine.
Craig, 61 - who is often the most outspoken member of the judging panel - said: "Wow, darling! You are one to watch. End of."
Former EastEnders star Lacey Turner impressed the judges, too, with her cha cha to Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know.
The 38-year-old actress - who is best known for playing Stacey Slater on the long-running BBC soap - scored 27 points alongside her professional partner Vito Coppola.
At the other end of the table, though, was actress Melanie Walters and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec, who received a meagre 15 points from the Strictly judges.
Their score was matched by soccer star Shaun Wright-Phillips, the adopted son of former England international Ian Wright, and Dame Sarah Storey, the 48-year-old Paralympic gold medalist.
Elsewhere, Jaime Winstone, daughter of movie star Ray Winstone, and her partner Carlos Gu scored 21 points, while former Love Island star Dani Dyer - who was forced to withdraw from the 2025 series due to injury - earned 22 points from the judges.
Shirley Ballas hailed Dani - who is the daughter of former EastEnders actor Danny Dyer - as the "pocket rocket" of this year's competition.
The scores will all be carried over to next weekend’s Movie Week and their second dance. The celebrities will then face a viewer vote before the bottom two contestants battle it out in the dreaded dance-off.
