Key events
Show key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Judges rise from the graveThe paddle-raising quartet arrive in full fancy dress. Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood have come as the twins from The Shining. Don’t have nightmares, kids.
FrockwatchHere come our hosts, so let’s compare their fright night finery. Tess Daly has come as a pearl queen qwith weird sleeves. Claudia Winkleman is in chic black frock and blazer. Claud wins.
Roll title sequenceFour of these couples have bitten the dance dust already. Who’ll be next to join them in the glittery graveyard?
Aaaaand we’re off!Cue the compulsory spook-themed VT. Craig Revel Horwood in bed. Not a coffin, surprisingly.
Open your creaking coffin lids and lurch out into the moonlight, cackling in a sinister manner. We’re about to go live to the Elstree Studios ballroom…
Alan Carr’s Picture Slam just reaching its bifocal climax on BBC1 now. It’s enough to make you pine for the good ole days of Pointless Celebrities.
Not long now, fancy footwork fans…
Icons Week is the prizeTonight’s couples are bidding to make it through to Strictly’s first ever Icons Week next Saturday, when routines will celebrate “music icons across the decades”.
Let’s hope it’s more of a success than Around The World Week a decade ago (remember that?). Ten minutes until the chilling church bell tolls…
BBC fancy dress box raidedWe can look forward to the traditional outlandish costumes and theming overload tonight. Our couples will be channelling the Addams family, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the Joker and Harley Quinn, alongside a whole gamut of ghostly randomness.
Dig out your animal ears because it’ll be like a Mean Girls costume party in that ballroom. So fetch. A mere 15 minutes until trick-or-treat time…
Bwa-ha-ha, it’s Halloween horror show bingoTick them off when they happen on-screen! Take a drink for each! End up apple-bobbing with a bolt through your neck and clown make-up you can’t remember applying! Here’s your 10-point spotter’s guide for tonight:
Every VT has a hammed-up horror film theme
Judges wield pumpkin or ghost-shaped scoring paddles
Someone begins their routine by climbing out of a coffin, giving us Nancy Dell’Olio flashbacks
Halloween prop overload means too much “messin’ abaht” and dances take ages to get going
Routine “enhanced” and “augmented” by shonky CGI creatures
Someone has a disembodied hand on their shoulder
Craig describes a dodgy dance as “a horror show, darling”
Someone’s face is painted green and the make-up transfers to their partner’s cheek during the dance
Band leader Dave Arch is dressed as a baton-wielding werewolf or vampire
The production team’s names are “spookified” with Halloween puns on the end credits
On your dance cards tonightTonight sees the most varied hoofing repertoire of the series so far, with 10 different dance styles on display. The only overlap is two sambas (from Chris McCausland and Tasha Ghouri). Most excitingly of all, we’ll be treated to the first Argentine tango of the series, courtesy of Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola.
Twenty minutes until the witching hour…
Slot of doom or dance of death?Based on the 2024 series so far, being on first and performing a samba could prove fatal. Three times in four weeks, the couple who danced first on Saturday night went on to appear in Sunday’s dance-off (this fate has befallen Tom Dean, Shayne Ward and JB Gill).
Meanwhile, two of the four eliminated couples went out on a samba (namely Toyah Willcox and Paul Merson).
Keep an eye on the running order tonight for potential portents. It’s 25 minutes to creepy kick-off…
Fifth elimination loomsMedia medic Dr Punam Krishan is the bookies’ strong favourite for elimination this weekend, having languished near the bottom of the scoreboard every week but one. She also has the lowest average score of any surviving celebrity.
But will tonight’s scoring paddles and the public vote go according to form? Sam Quek and Pete Wicks are the next most widely tipped for the exit door. Could Halloween characterisation help them to safety? Less than half an hour until we get our first choreographic clues…
A spooky Strictly milestoneTwinkle-toed trick or technical treat? Good evening and welcome to week six of Strictly Come Dancing 2024. I’m Michael, your undead dance partner for tonight’s annual spooktacular – this year’s second themed show and another milestone on the road to glittery glory. I’d love you to watch along with me as our pro-celebrity pairs perform Halloween-themed routines. It promises to be a scream.
Last week saw more perfect 10s, this time for Montell Douglas and Jamie Borthwick, while dad-dancing footballer Paul Merson was given the red card.
Our surviving 11 pro-celebrity pairs now don phantasmagorical fancy dress and hit the Elstree dancefloor once again, bidding to make it to the contest’s midway mark next weekend. As per usual, tonight’s scores will be combined with the public vote. The two lowest-ranked couples will hoof again for survival on Sunday night.
Who’ll fall victim to fright night and fall short of the halfway point? Dr Puman Krishanlooks in the most danger. Sam Quek and Pete Wicks could also be vulnerable, while Shayne Ward and JB Gill have made shock appearances in the dance-off in recent weeks. Amid the Halloween frenzy, it’s all to hoof for.
It’s spooky showtime at 6.25pm on BBC One. I’ll be liveblogging from 5.55pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and pumpkin-spiced asides. So pour a bubbling chalice of magic potion, stock up on skull-shaped snacks and I’ll see you on the cobweb-draped sofa.
As always, I’d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, email me [email protected] and the comments section below is open for ghoulish gossip. I’ll zombie-shuffle down there from time-to-time to eavesdrop and report on your reactions.
Someone’s Halloween is set to be a horror show. Nearly time to staaaart spooky dancing!