Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu could have been saved by their dance (Picture: Ray Burmiston/BBC/PA Wire)
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu might have been handed a much-needed lifeline on Strictly Come Dancing.
The pair have endured a tough time on the BBC series, landing in the bottom two on two separate occasions.
However, their luck could change as they’ve been assigned the Quickstep, a style of dance beloved for its ability to get stars through the week with ease.
An analysis of the 2,300+ dance numbers that have been performed over nearly 20 years, 22 seasons, and nearly 500 episodes, found that the Ballroom dance has the best track record.
The chasses, lock steps, and pivot turns are a hit with judges and viewers alike, leading to 157 Quicksteppers going on to dance another week.
Research by MyBettingSites.co.uk found the Paso Doble was the second safest style of dance with 132 routines leading to progression to the next round, while the Tango was just behind at 131.
Shayne and Nancy may be able to use the Quickstep to their advantage (Picture: PA Wire)
The Tango can be a divisive number as it’s in third place for ending Strictly journies and equals the Cha-cha-cha’s 23.
The dance that can lead to the most danger is the Samba, which is responsible for 33 eliminations.
Shayne, 40, and Nancy, 33, will be dancing their Quickstep to Help! by The Beatles as part of Strictly’s first-ever Icons Week, which will require each couple to honour a musical icon with a routine set to their song.
Could the Quickstep be their ticket to week eight? (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
Their upbeat dance comes after they were in the most recent dance-off, and faced Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez in Halloween week.
The judges – Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke – unanimously voted to save Shayne and Nancy.
After the results show, Shayne admitted that finding himself in the position left him feeling ‘gutted’.
‘This week has been a hard one,’ he said.
In week four, Shayne was up against Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk in the dance-off but managed to survive the tough episode.
Having to fight for his spot came as a shock as he’d been safely in the middle of the leaderboard. Metro’s TV Editor Adam Miller hypothesised that it could be that the public hasn’t gotten to know Shayne, and assumed he’s arrogant.
‘Part of the reason the public isn’t engaging with Shayne is because they’re struggling to see the real him. But is that cockiness?
‘If anything, to me, he looks nervous and a little overwhelmed no doubt triggered by exaggerated and unwarranted backlash to one of the first comments he made on the show.’ During the launch episode, Shayne let his competitive side be known and declared he was ‘in it to win it’.
Strictly Come Dancing week seven dances
JB Gill & Lauren Oakley: Couple’s Choice to Bruno Mars Medley
Montell Douglas and …read more
Source:: Metro
