BALVINDER SOPAL ELIMINATED FROM STRICTLY COME DANCING, TESS AND CLAUDIA AWARDED GOLDEN GLITTERBALL TROPHY

Tonight’s Strictly Come Dancing Semi-Final results show saw Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon leave the competition, following a dance off against Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.

Both couples performed their routines again. Balvinder and Julian performed their Salsa to Rhythm Is Gonna Get You/Get On Your Feet by Gloria Estefan, before Amber and Nikita performed their Couple’s Choice to RAYE’s Fly Me to the Moon. 

After both couples had danced again, the judges delivered their verdicts:   Motsi Mabuse chose to save Amber and Nikita; Head Judge Shirley Ballas chose to save Amber and Nikita ; Anton Du Beke chose to save Amber and Nikita. Craig Revel Horwood, who this week had the casting vote, also decided to save Amber and Nikita.  

The Strictly Come Dancing 2025 finalists are therefore Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.  When asked by Tess about her time on the show, Balvinder said: “I’ve absolutely adored every single minute. All the dance offs, all the challenges, but just more than anything, just being in this building and dancing on this floor with such an amazing human being. It was my Yes Year, and I said yes to Strictly. My family, we've had some hard times, but they’ve been here.”

Tess then asked Balvinder what the partnership meant and what she had to say to Julian: “I mean, I have no words, actually. You've been brilliant in every sense of the word, when I wobbled, and when I felt really brilliant about the dance and got the steps right, you've just held me in your hands and you've gone, Bal, we've got this. It's just me and you, and we're gonna do this together. And we have done every single dance together, I've never felt alone on this floor, and I just want you to remember me. Don’t replace me too soon!”

When asked about having Balvinder as his first partner on Strictly Come Dancing, Julian said: “I just think that Bal embodies what this competition is about. Her spirit is unbreakable, and [to Bal] you have shown me that I'm actually dreaming too small, and Bal can inspire us that whatever any of us want in life, all you have to have is the desire to go after it. It took six dance offs and a perfect score to take this lady out, so I am so so proud of you!”

Balvinder then added: “Everyone's been brilliant. The minute you walk into this building, it's like a massive hug. Every single time. I've walked in, people have just held me and gone “You know, you're all right”. It's such a wonderful place to work. [To the judges] Thank you...

"Claud and Tess, I'm grateful that I got to be on the show on your last moment here as well, because you, for me, are what Strictly is about. You're the era of Len Goodman and Bruce Forsyth, and that's when I started watching it, and that, for me, is really special. This year, it's been full of so many serendipitous moments. I'm so lucky, and I'm really, very happy.”

Sunday’s semi-final results show also featured a surprise for Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman ahead of their departure from Strictly Come Dancing after this year’s Christmas Special. The pair were shown a highlights package of their decades working on the show, featuring new interviews from the judges and footage from their early years alongside Sir Bruce Forsyth.

The judges, with help from Kai Widdrington, then awarded Tess and Claudia each their own, first-of-its-kind golden Glitterball Trophy.  Elsewhere, the results show featured a fabulously festive performance from Kylie Minogue of her new single XMAS accompanied by sixteen Strictly Professional Dancers, plus a special performance of the 90s classic Sit Down from the band James.   

Strictly Come Dancing 2025’s Grand Final is at 7pm this Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Both of this weekend’s episodes are available to watch via BBC iPlayer.