Balvinder Sopal was consoled by judge Motsi Mabuse as she broke down in tears during the Strictly quarter-final on Saturday night as Amber Davies scored a perfect 40 while Lewis Cope was left disappointed.
Musicals Week saw Balvinder and Julian Caillon performed a Viennese Waltz to Never Enough from The Greatest Showman.
The performance proved emotional as the EastEnders star was visibly in tears while being comforted by Tess Daly.
Judge Motsi Mabuse quickly rose from the desk and rushed to the floor to console Balvinder in a sweet moment.
After making her way up to Claudia Winkleman, the tears continued as the star received a supportive video message from her young nieces.
Claudia later revealed to Balvinder how she scored her highest marks of the series – a respectable 35 points.
Balvinder Sopal was consoled by judge Mosti Mabuse as she broke down in tears during the Strictly quarter-final on Saturday night
Balvinder and Julian Caillon had performed a Viennese Waltz to Never Enough from The Greatest Showman
George Clarke had opened Musicals Week with his pro partner Alexis Warr as they performed an Argentine Tango to The Point of No Return from The Phantom of the Opera.
Last week he said of musicals: ‘I hate them. I just sort of skip the music parts. That’s if I’m watching them on a TV, I don’t just get up and go to the toiler if I’m at a theatre.’
Following his performance, Claudia revealed legendary music composer Andrew Lloyd Webber – who is behind The Phantom of the Opera – had a message for him.
The 77-year-old then appeared on screen and said: ‘Good evening, George. I have a message from the Phantom of the Opera.’
He continued to read out: ‘Greetings, Monsieur George, I congratulate you on choosing the music of my legend tonight.
‘I trust that your conversion to musicals is now complete, lest a disaster should occur beyond your imagination. Your obedient servant, the opera ghost.’
Breaking character and smiling, Andrew concluded: ‘Good luck, George.’
Stunned at the sweet message, George confirmed to Claudia he had now been converted as a fan of musicals.
George Clarke was left stunned during the Strictly Come Dancing quarter-final as Andrew Lloyd Webber surprised him with a video message after he admitted to ‘hating’ musicals
Stunned at the sweet message, George confirmed to Claudia he had now been converted as a fan of musicals
The judges scored him 35 out of 40 for his performance.
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman opened the show for week 11 as their time at the helm also nears its end.
Elsewhere, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu performed a Samba to The Rhythm of Life from Sweet Charity.
They received 34 points from the judges, placing them at the bottom of this week’s leaderboard.
Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin continued their streak of 40 out of 40 with a Charleston to Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat from Guys and Dolls.
However Amber came under criticism from fans for her dancing experience as they accused her of ‘essentially doing her day job’.
Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin continued their streak of 40 out of 40 with a Charleston to Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat from Guys and Dolls
However Amber came under criticism from fans for her dancing experience as they accused her of ‘essentially doing her day job’
As well as Great Gatsby Amber has also starred in West End productions of Pretty Woman, 9 to 5 The Musical, Back To The Future and is due to star in Legally Blonde.
Taking to Twitter viewers penned: ‘Amber just essentially doing her day job. Bound to get a 40’;
‘I do like Amber but performing in musicals is her day job so a 40 is imminent!!’;
‘Amber has just come out of The Great Gatsby, where she did the Charleston every night.’
Another fan asked: ‘#Strictly can we please get back to having stars who have no dance experience. Its crazy to have someone, as an example, that dances in music theatre competing.
‘Not to mention others who competed in a TV dance comp previously.’
Unfortunately the night didn’t go as expected for Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones were the last to perform.
They performed a Salsa to Dance at the Gym from West Side Story, receiving 35 points from the judges who had less than favourable comments for him.
The night didn’t go as expected for Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones were the last to perform and close the show
They performed a Salsa to Dance at the Gym from West Side Story, receiving 35 points from the judges who had less than favourable comments for him
Craig told him how his ‘footwork were slightly turned in at times’ before adding: ‘I don’t think it was your best dance.’
Shirley remarked: ‘It was OK but it wasn’t your best dance for me by far.’
Speaking to Claudia afterwards, she brought up how much he enjoyed performing the routine, before he said: ‘I did until those comments.
‘I’m only joking, I did. I thought it was fun. I was enjoying the playfulness and enjoying trying to recreate the scenes from the film. I enjoyed it.’
Last week viewers watched as Karen Carney and Amber Davies achieved a perfect score of 40 with their professional partners.
The dreaded dance-off resulted in Balvinder Sopal and Alex Kingston fighting for their place in the competition, with the judges voting to send Alex home.
This weekend the professionals will turn up the heat with their sexiest dance to date – stripping down to lingerie for a hot new performance.
The dancers will take to the floor for another group number this weekend, and in a nod to Musicals Week, will perform Chicago’s Cell Block Tango.
The scene from the musical, which was made into a Hollywood Blockbuster hit in 2003, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger, sees six women on death row tell the story of how they killed their husbands or lovers.
Each arguing their victim ‘had it coming’, as the women detail what drove them to kill.
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman opened the show for week 11 as their time at the helm also nears its end
The results following Saturdays performances in the quarter-final
Some of the female professional stars will take on the roles of the incarcerated women, and strip down to lingerie like the movie and stage show.
In a teaser video ahead of the performance, pro Katya Jones teased: ‘Prepare to be razzle-dazzled by this week’s Chicago inspired group dance.
‘We have pushed the boundaries further than ever before.’
Choreographer Elizabeth Honan added: ‘Cell Block Tango is about six merry widows who have all murdered their husbands, and they all individually tell their story.
‘All the female dancers are just going in and you feel it in every part of your body.’
‘This is a complete musical theatre number,’ added Aljaž Škorjanec. ‘We have a lot of storytelling and a lot of acting.
‘The set looks incredible, the lighting is absolutely mesmerising. This is going to be one of the memorable routines on Strictly.’
