Cach Mercer leads the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard
Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby have topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard.
Cach Mercer has topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard.
The 25-year-old former Love Island star and his professional dancer Maddie Ingoldsby wowed the judges with their Foxtrot to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, earning a score of 34 points out of a possible 40.
Judge Motsi Mabuse said: "I loved it.
"I saw you and I saw so many other people. You remind me of Sammy Davis Jr. You are brilliant, you’re a great dancer. You are iconic, really."
Fellow judge Shirley Ballas also heaped praise on Cach and Maddie.
She said: "The way you stayed connected together was fantastic.
"You came out here, you were cool, the whole thing was fantastic. A job well done."
Elsewhere, Anton Du Beke praised Cach for committing himself to the routine.
Anton explained: "Cach, from one old ballroom boy to a new one ... welcome to the club. I’m so delighted.
"You invested and completely committed to that. Your footwork is immaculate. Your timing. Stick with it because you are great."
Cach was joined at the top of the leaderboard by actress Jaime Winstone - the daughter of Hollywood star Ray Winstone - and her partner Carlos Gu.
Jaime and Carlos performed a Paso Doble to Let's Dance by David Bowie, and Shirley was full of praise for their efforts.
The Strictly judge told them: "The timing was good - I loved the character with the music.
"The whole thing had passion, I loved when it went slow, I loved when it sped up. I just loved it."
Anton lavished them with praise, too.
He said: "That is the best thing you’ve done in this competition. It was strong, dynamic, you had great power. It was immense. I loved it, well done."
Delta Goodrem, one of the favourites for this year's Strictly crown, was forced to pull out of the latest round after suffering a rib injury in training, while Dame Sarah Storey languished at the bottom of the Strictly leaderboard, scoring just 21 points with her Tango routine.
