Strictly Come Dancing Season 24 Episode 4 Recap: Why Were Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden Eliminated?

Strictly Come Dancing’s first results show of 2026 finally put the new cast in front of an elimination. Movie Week had given all 15 celebrities one last chance to perform before the public entered the equation, with scores from the opening two weeks combined before voting began. Episode 4 then had to answer the question that had been hanging over the competition since launch night: which couple would become the first to leave?

The answer was Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden, who landed in the dance-off against Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. Both couples returned to their Movie Week Cha Chas, but the judges were unanimous that Jaime and Carlos had delivered the stronger performance. Chris therefore became the first celebrity eliminated from Season 24, while 14 couples moved forward to another week of competition.

Also Read: Strictly Come Dancing Season 24 Episode 1 Recap: All 15 Couples Revealed

The first results immediately show the public vote can change everything

Saturday’s Movie Week leaderboard had suggested that Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec were in the greatest danger. They finished at the bottom of the combined Week 1 and Week 2 scores with 30 points, while Chris and Amy were only slightly higher on 33. Will Best and Dianne Buswell were also near the bottom with 37.

The results show demonstrated why the judges’ leaderboard only tells part of the Strictly story. Melanie survived the first vote, as did Will, while Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu unexpectedly fell into the bottom two despite having a higher combined judges’ score than Chris. That immediately revealed one of the season’s early uncertainties: technical position and viewer support are not necessarily moving in the same direction.

Jaime had scored 21 for her Pretty Woman Cha Cha on Saturday, four points more than Chris received for his Baywatch routine. That did not stop her from joining him in the dance-off once the public vote was added.

For Chris, the result was less surprising numerically. He and Amy had struggled to move far enough away from the bottom of the leaderboard over the first two competitive weeks, meaning they entered the public vote needing significant support to compensate.

The professionals turn Movie Week into The Devil Wears Prada

Before the elimination took over the episode, Strictly extended Movie Week into Sunday with another cinematic production. The professional dancers performed a routine inspired by The Devil Wears Prada, with judges Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood also becoming part of the performance.

The sequence gave the results show something more than clips from Saturday and a prolonged wait for the bottom two. Movie Week had been moved unusually early in the 2026 series so that every celebrity could experience a themed week before the first elimination, and Sunday’s professional number effectively served as the closing act of that experiment.

That scheduling change also made the first departure feel slightly different from a conventional Week 2 exit. Chris was able to leave having taken part in both a normal opening-week dance and one of Strictly’s major themed events rather than being eliminated before getting that experience.

Jaime Winstone joins Chris Appleton in the first dance-off

As safe couples were gradually announced, Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu were confirmed as the first pair facing the dance-off. That was a notable result because Carlos entered this series as the reigning professional champion, while Jaime’s judges’ scores had placed her above several other contestants.

Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden were then confirmed as their opponents. Will Best and Lawrence Robb were among the couples who escaped the dance-off, despite both sitting relatively low on the judges’ side of the competition.

That left Strictly with an unusually neat first dance-off: two Cha Chas from Movie Week. Chris and Amy reprised their routine to “I’ll Be Ready” from Baywatch, while Jaime and Carlos returned to “Oh, Pretty Woman” from Pretty Woman. The judges could therefore compare two celebrities performing the same dance style rather than having to weigh completely different technical demands against each other.

Why were Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden eliminated?

Chris and Amy were eliminated because all four judges preferred Jaime and Carlos in the dance-off. The decision was not based on the public vote again. Once the bottom two were established, the judges assessed the performances they saw in the dance-off itself. Jaime and Carlos had already held a four-point advantage over Chris and Amy during Movie Week, and their second performance gave the panel no reason to reverse that order.

Motsi Mabuse chose Jaime and Carlos after seeing improvement from both couples. Shirley Ballas felt Jaime’s dance had greater power and refinement, while Anton Du Beke considered her performance stronger and more assured. Craig Revel Horwood confirmed that he would also have saved Jaime and Carlos, making the outcome unanimous.

That distinction matters when explaining Chris’s exit. He did not leave simply because he had been near the bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday. The public vote first put him into the dance-off, and then Jaime delivered the performance the judges considered stronger when survival was directly on the line.

Chris’s Baywatch Cha Cha had scored 17 on Saturday. The judges had found problems with connection, flow and technique, and although the dance-off offered him another opportunity to improve those areas, it was not enough to overturn Jaime’s advantage.

Chris leaves with praise for Amy Dowden

After the decision, Chris reflected on a Strictly experience that had pushed him well outside his normal world. He described the competition as emotionally intense and said he was proud to have taken part, while placing particular emphasis on the friendship he had developed with Amy. He also expressed disappointment that he could not take her further into the competition.

That made the first elimination especially bittersweet for Amy, whose return to another full celebrity partnership had been closely watched. Chris may not have emerged as one of the strongest technical dancers, but the pairing had quickly established an easy personal connection, which made their departure feel earlier than their partnership might have suggested off the dance floor.

For the competition itself, however, the first elimination provides the clearest evidence yet that celebrity profile alone will not be enough. Chris arrived with a substantial public following and a career working with major entertainment figures, but Strictly’s audience still did not lift him clear of the bottom two.

Matilda brings another stage performance to the ballroom

The results show also paused the competition for a performance from Tim Minchin and the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda the Musical. The four young performers sharing the role of Matilda appeared during the number, extending Sunday’s show beyond the Movie Week recap and elimination mechanics.

The segment fit naturally into a weekend already built around theatrical storytelling. Saturday’s dances had transformed celebrities into characters from films including Wicked: For Good, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Grease and The Godfather, while Sunday’s professional and musical performances continued that emphasis on character-led staging.

Those production numbers also gave some breathing room between the safe-couple announcements, which otherwise carried significantly more tension than the first live show. Week 1 had no public vote and no elimination, but Episode 4 made clear that the competition has now entered its normal rhythm.

Fourteen couples move on after the first elimination

Chris Appleton’s departure leaves 14 celebrity couples in the competition. Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington enter the next live show from the strongest judges’ position after topping the combined Week 1 and Week 2 leaderboard with 59 points. Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley and Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola were immediately behind on 55.

More interesting, however, may be what the first public vote revealed lower down the order. Melanie Walters survived despite finishing last with the judges, and Will Best also escaped the dance-off. Jaime’s appearance in the bottom two despite scoring better than several rivals suggests that the public hierarchy may already look very different from the judges’ leaderboard.

The next round will therefore test more than dancing improvement. Contestants who survived this first vote now have a better idea of whether their audience connection can protect them, while Jaime and Carlos know they cannot assume respectable judges’ scores will keep them safe.

Strictly Come Dancing returns with the remaining 14 couples on Saturday, October 10. The results show has turned the season from an introductory two-week showcase into an elimination competition, and from this point onward, every Saturday performance carries an immediate consequence.