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Strictly 2026: 'Stunning' performance lands top spot for actor in Halloween special

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Cite

Daly, P. (2026, October 31). Strictly 2026: 'Stunning' performance lands top spot for actor in Halloween special. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/strictly-come-dancing-halloween-result-week-five-b1303108.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-31 · by Patrick Daly

Quick Summary

Lacey Turner secured top spot on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween special with her partner Vito Coppola, earning a score of 36 for their Charleston routine set to "Crazy Stupid Love." The duo received high praise from judge Motsi Mabuse, who called it the best dance of the night. Other notable performances included Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin, who scored 32 points with a Viennese waltz, and Will Best and Diane Buswell, also scoring 32 for their Couple's Choice routine.
Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of the latest report on October 31, 2026, Lacey Turner and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola secured top spot in the Halloween special episode of *Strictly Come Dancing* with a score of 36 points. They impressed judges with their gothic-themed Charleston routine to "Crazy Stupid Love" by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah, which was hailed as the best dance of the night by judge Motsi Mabuse. Meanwhile, former Love Island winner Dani Dyer and her partner Nikita Kuzmin earned a score of 32 points for their Viennese waltz to "My Favourite Things" in ghoulish Victorian costumes. The pair also tied with Will Best and Diane Buswell, who received the same score for their Couple’s Choice dance set to Nu Flow by Big Brovaz. Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby scored 33 points with an Argentine tango to Pas De Deux by Michael Abels.

Written for “Strictly 2026 Halloween Special Win” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Strictly 2026 Halloween Special Win
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different performances in the Halloween episode of Strictly 2026, with Delta Goodrem and Katya Jones scoring 33 points for their Viennese waltz while another pair scored 36 points for a Charleston.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different performances on Strictly 2026 during a Halloween special; one mentions Lacey Turner's Charleston and another focuses on Dani Dyer's Viennese waltz, indicating they are not the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7986 article(s) · 66 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 66 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Patrick Daly
46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Channelling gothic glamour in an all-black ensemble, the 38-year-old impressed, alongside professional dance partner Vito Coppola, with a Charleston set to Crazy Stupid Love by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah.
🔮 The signalling issues meant trains running on the major rail section “may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised”, Network Rail said in a social media post.
🔮 It means officers may have detained at least a quarter of attendees.
🔮 “I hope it inspires people to be more creative and do stuff, and get experimenting with stuff that they maybe haven't tried before.
🔮 The pair will split the £83,000 prize pot, with Heartstopper actor Croft donating his £41,500 share to the charity Choose Love, while Ranganathan
🔮 Despite the efforts of emergency services, the motorist could not be saved.
🔮 The three couples with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes will dance again next week, before the judges will eliminate one pair.
🔮 The mayor of London will urge ministers to assist with clearing a toxic burning rubbish dump in east London after
🔮 The money raised would help pay for an open kitchen, equipment and furniture, allowing Little Baobab to continue serving traditional Senegalese cuisine while expanding its community work.
🔮 He has said a new deal could mean the UK goes “all the way” and rejoins the EU.
Also by Patrick Daly
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 46 articles by Patrick Daly →

Topics

Argentine Coconut Little Mix Olympic Viennese

Subjects

Revel Horwood PERSON · 3× Cach Mercer PERSON · 2× Dani Dyer PERSON · 2× Du Beke PERSON · 2× John Nellis PERSON · 2× Katya Jones PERSON · 2× Maddie Ingoldsby PERSON · 2× Nikita Kuzmin PERSON · 2× Vito Coppola PERSON · 2× Will Best PERSON · 2×

Narrative

* Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola – 36 * John Nellis and Katya Jones – 35 * Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby – 33 * Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington – 33 * Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin - 32 * Will Best and Diane Buswell – 32 * Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu – 30 * Jamie Winstone and Carlos Gu - 27 * Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal – 26 * Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita – 25 * Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley – 25 Social media star John Nellis and Katya Jones secured second place after earning 35 points for their tango to Dance… by Slayyyter, which Mabuse described as “great” Saturday’s episode opened with TV dog trainer Graeme Hall and professional partner Lauren Oakley dancing the samba to Coconut by Harry Nilsson.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-01
🔮 Channelling gothic glamour in an all-black ensemble, the 38-year-old impressed, alongside professional dance partner Vito Coppola, with a Charleston set to Crazy Stupid Love by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah.

Claims (15 extracted, 0 hedged)

Channelling gothic glamour in an all-black ensemble, the 38-year-old impressed, alongside professional dance partner Vito Coppola, with a Charleston set to Crazy Stupid Love by Cheryl and Tinie Tempah. asserted
old → channel → Cheryl
The pair climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a score of 36, as judge Motsi Mabuse hailed the routine as the "best dance of the night". asserted
Mabuse → climb → night
Former Love Island winner Dani Dyer also wowed the judges with her “best dance yet” after performing a Viennese waltz with Nikita Kuzmin. asserted
Dyer → wow → Kuzmin
The pair danced to My Favourite Things by Rodgers and Hammerstein while dressed in ghoulish Victorian-style costumes, earning 32 points. Anton Du Beke called it her “best dance yet”, and Craig Revel Horwood said: “I can’t add much to that, apart from brilliant. asserted
I → dance → that
They are tied on 32 points with Will Best and Dianne Buswell, who performed their Couple’s Choice dance to Nu Flow by Big Brovaz. asserted
who → tie → Brovaz
Revel Horwood called the routine “absolutely gorgeous”, and Du Beke said: “It was incredible, I loved that dance. asserted
I → call → dance
Also scoring 33 points were Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, who performed an Argentine tango to Pas De Deux by Michael Abels. asserted
who → score → Abels
* Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola – 36 * John Nellis and Katya Jones – 35 * Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby – 33 * Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington – 33 * Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin - 32 * Will Best and Diane Buswell – 32 * Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu – 30 * Jamie Winstone and Carlos Gu - 27 * Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal – 26 * Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita – 25 * Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley – 25 Social media star John Nellis and Katya Jones secured second place after earning 35 points for their tango to Dance… by Slayyyter, which Mabuse described as “great” Saturday’s episode opened with TV dog trainer Graeme Hall and professional partner Lauren Oakley dancing the samba to Coconut by Harry Nilsson. asserted
Hall → secure → Nilsson
The pair scored 25 for their routine, which Revel Horwood said “needs finessing”, leaving them joint bottom of the leaderboard with Olympic medallist Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita. asserted
Horwood → score → Stoecker
The latter couple also scored 25 for their quickstep to Black Magic by Little Mix, which head judge Shirley Ballas said “wasn’t your best”. asserted
Ballas → score → Mix
Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal scored 26 for a tango to Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. asserted
Robb → score → Ghostbusters
The episode was filled with elaborate costumes, with Du Beke dressed as an angel and Revel Horwood looking like a devil. “The roles you were born to play,” presenter Josh Widdicombe joked at the start of the show, while his co-host Emma Willis said the judges looked “amazing”. asserted
judges → fill → show
Mabuse opted for a green butterfly ensemble, and Ballas wore an elaborate ice queen outfit which Willis described as “slightly terrifying”. asserted
Willis → opt → which
The next couple to be eliminated will be revealed during Sunday’s show, which will feature Strictly’s first triple dance-off. asserted
which → eliminate → off
Three couples will perform, with the judges voting to eliminate one pair from the competition rather than choosing which couple to save. asserted
judges → perform → couple
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