The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ed lives to dance another day as Joseph is voted off Strictly
Former shadow chancellor almost dropped his partner Katya Jones
Ed Balls has survived to dance another week as Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph became the fifth celebrity to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing.
The former shadow chancellor came close to dropping his professional partner Katya Jones during a lift as they performed an American Smooth on Saturday’s show.
The duo were placed at the bottom of the judge’s leaderboard but it was Joseph who was eliminated after all four judges voted to save model Daisy Lowe in the dance-off on last night’s show.
Joseph paid tribute to her professional partner, Anton Du Beke, after she received the news, saying: “Learning a new dance every week has just been lovely, working with him (Anton) has been an absolute joy and we’ve laughed a lot.
“And, yeah, it’s been just a lovely, lovely, lovely journey and it’s come to an end and that’s absolutely fine. We’ve loved it.”
When asked by presenter Tess Daly what she would miss most, she said it would be Du Beke.
The professional also spoke of his affection for his partner, telling Joseph: “I would just like to say thank you very much, you enriched my whole Strictly experience this year.”
The duo had scored 24 points from the judges for their Tango to Whatever Lola Wants by Gotan Project, while Lowe and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec were in joint fourth place with 32 points for their Charleston to Happy Feet by Manhattan Rhythm Kings. The judges all opted to save Lowe. Ore Oduba topped the judges’ leaderboard during Saturday’s live show for a second week running, after scoring 36 points for his classic waltz.
Laura Whitmore was unable to dance her jive following an ankle injury so received a bye through to next week.