Strictly Come Dancing fans were left with their jaws on the floor when the latest celebrity eviction was revealed on Sunday.

Despite Nick Knowles being confirmed as the latest contestant to be given the boot hours earlier in an online leak, viewers were still surprised to see the DIY SOS star go.

Many took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their shock over Nick’s eviction, saying: “I can’t believe Nick is gone after all of that.” Another echoed: “Omg NOT Nick!!!! He was only just back and now he’s gone.”

“I love Shayne but I think Nick should have stayed,” someone else wrote on X. While another Strictly fan added: “Sad to see Nick go but Shayne deserved to stay. Nick certainly didn’t have an easy time on the show.”

As fans of the long-running BBC dance competition will know, a live show is recorded on Saturday night – with the results show being filmed immediately after. However, the result show airs almost 24 hours after it was recorded and a saboteur has long caused an issue for the BBC by revealing the results of the show before it airs.

The judges cast their votes and one star was sent packing ( 
Image:
BBC)
Nick and Luba left the competition following a dance off against Shayne and Nancy during the third Results Show of the series. Both couples performed their routines again as they were in the bottom two; Shayne and Nancy performed their Cha Cha to Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use) by Sub Sub feat. Melanie Williams. Then, Nick and Luba performed their Charleston to Rain on the Roof from the film Paddington 2.

With three votes in favour of Shayne and Nancy, they won the majority vote meaning that Nick and Luba would be leaving the competition. Head Judge Shirley Ballas also agreed and said she would have decided to save Shayne and Nancy.

When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Nick said: “I’ve really, really been surprised by how much I’ve loved doing it and by two things that happen. One is how much you care each week, and the other is how much you don’t want to let down your partner. The only reason I could do this is simply because of Luba’s changes, she’s been amazing.”

Luba said: “I’ve never met someone as determined as you, and I remember you saying that if you do your best, you’ll be very happy. I think you did more than your best. Thank you.”

When asked by Tess about his partner Luba, Nick said: “Luba’s been amazing and just been so fabulous every day. And I should say thank you also to all the background staff, the physios, all the people that have actually got me through this week, and to all of my fellow competitors who have been absolutely astounding, beautiful people. There are some amazing dancers up there, and I will love watching the rest of the series.”

Nick praised Luba who he said had been ‘amazing’ ( 
Image:
BBC/Guy Levy)
It is only week four of the competition and so far Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova have been eliminated. As have iconic singer Toyah Willcox and her dance partner Neil Jones. However, many celebrities remain in the contestant and stand a chance to win the Glitterball Trophy in December.

Nick has been battling injury during his time on the show after first injuring his shoulder while fixing a car and later injuring his leg in rehearsals. He was granted a bye during week three, which was also Movie Week where he had been due to perform the Charleston to a song from the film Paddington 2.

However, he was finally able to perform the dance when he returned for week four and he was rewarded with modest scores from the judges – who marked him with 4, 6, 5, 6 – producing a grand total of 21. Other celebrities still in the running include EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and his dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas, Olympic icon turned Gladiators star Montell Douglas, who goes by the codename Fire, alongside her dance partner Johannes Radebe, and JLS singer JB Gill and his dance partner Amy Dowden.

On Saturday night, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and her dance partner Aljaž Škorjanec triumphed over the other contestants as they secured a whopping 39 points for their Charleston. They performed the dance to the sound of the Strictly house band’s rendition of Unhealthy by Anne-Marie, featuring Shania Twain.

Jamie and Michelle as well as opera singer Wynne Evans and his pro dancer partner Katya Jones were the only closest competition as both couples scored 34 points each from the judges.