Chris Appleton and professional partner Amy Dowden became the first couple eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2026 in the results programme on Sunday, October 4. Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu survived the dance-off, the BBC confirmed.
The outcome followed the first public vote of the series on Saturday. The BBC’s explanation combines the first two weeks’ judges’ scores with that vote, so reading Saturday’s leaderboard alone does not explain the entire route to the bottom two.
Two stages led to the exit
Appleton and Dowden faced Winstone and Gu in the dance-off. Both couples repeated their cha-cha routines before the judges decided who would stay. The public vote helped determine who reached that stage; it was not a fresh public vote between the final two couples.
Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke chose Winstone and Gu. Craig Revel Horwood did not need to use his casting vote and said he would have made the same choice. This distinction matters when a headline describes the outcome as unanimous.
What the result does—and does not—show
The BBC says 14 couples will return the following weekend. That confirms the competition has moved beyond its opening elimination; it does not tell us how many individual audience votes separated the couples.
Neither a judges’ score nor a place in the dance-off supplies a public-vote total. Viewers comparing performances should keep the score table, the combined route to the dance-off and the judges’ final decision separate. The accompanying diagram sets out those stages.
Use the official Week 2 Results page
The BBC iPlayer listing is “Series 24: Week 2 Results”, linked in the sources below. That is the relevant episode for this exit, rather than a pre-results liveblog or an earlier week’s programme.
The official page states that iPlayer is available only in the UK and blocked playback from our location outside the UK. We verified the route and restriction, not successful playback or access from the United States. Readers outside the UK can use the BBC Newsround result report for the confirmed outcome.
Editorial synthesis of official material checked on 5 October 2026.
AI assisted with drafting and editing. This article is part of our preview edition. Editorial standards & corrections →