Strictly Come Dancing 2021: Week 5 live – John Whaite tops the leaderboard with a star baker Charleston

After a dip in form last week – and in scores – it was raining 10s on Saturday night. John Whaite scored two for his chanson-meets-Charleston triumph, while AJ Odudu and Rose Ayling-Ellis also picked up a 10 apiece for their dramatic dances. These three are surely headed for the final.

Or perhaps not. We also saw strong challenges from Tom Fletcher, Tilly Ramsay, Rhys Stephenson and Adam Peaty, contributing to a very high-standard show for Week 5. Can the chasing pack catch up to the leaders? There’s still a long way to go, and this has been a season of surprises.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ugo Monye, who was absent last week because of a back injury, returned with a mediocre rumba – and looked even more pained after the judges’ critiques. The slow Latin dance wasn’t kind to Sara Davies either; she tumbled from the top of the leaderboard to second from bottom. It’s likely we’ll see at least one, if not both, of those routines again in the dance-off. Join us for the results show on Sunday night on BBC One at 7:15pm to find out who is rumbled by the rumba.

Pity the hay fever-sufferers in the Strictly studio: Dan Walker’s Viennese waltz was positively drowning in flowers – and sentiment. Not only was he dancing to his wife’s favourite song, Billy Joel’s She’s Always a Woman, but she and his kids made a visit to the training room, too. Is Dad embarrassing on the show? Son Joe offered a less-than-convincing “No.” Fair enough, we’re all still recovering from that MC Hammer number.

However, the judges were generally pleased with Walker’s Viennese waltz - head judge Shirley Ballas noted his improved frame and footwork. But Craig Revel Horwood thought his hands were “spatulistic”, and Motsi Mabuse wants him to use those long legs more to cover the floor. He didn’t manage the four 10s that his family awarded, though landed a decent four 7s. But is that enough for this stage of the competition?

By George, he’s got it!

After Greg Wise crashed out with a samba last week, Adam Peaty had good reason to fear the challenging Latin dance. But he won over the judges – and no doubt salivating viewers at home – with his steamy performance to George Michael’s Faith, which opened with the Olympian in tight-fitting double denim and a mini striptease, and featured plenty of eye-popping hip gyrations.

It was really more Magic Mike than George Michael, and left the judges dazed and confused. “This was amazing, but I don’t really know why,” confessed Anton Du Beke, who said it left him twitchy. “It made me twitch, too,” drawled Revel Horwood. Peaty’s performance lacked fluidity, he noted, but the Olympian has extraordinary isolation. “I wouldn’t have wanted to miss those hips ever in my life,” sighed Mabuse, while Ballas was “bowled over” by Peaty’s musicality. Among other things.