Strictly Come Dancing has revealed that the head judge for week 4 is Craig Revel Horwood, but what does this mean for the dance off and who could be going home? Here are our predictions.
After years of Shirley Ballas being head judge on Strictly, giving her the power to ultimately decide who stays and who goes if there isn't a unanimous decision made on a Sunday evening dance off, the series has had a shake up for 2025.
Now, instead of Shirley having the power to decide every week, we now have a new head judge every episode. As it stands in the series so far, however, no one has had to yet use their new-found authority. That could all change at any time, and this week it is Craig who will have the deciding vote, should Anton, Shirley and Motsi struggle to come to an agreement.
Tess announced the news at the end of tonight's show after all the couples had performed, with Craig jokingly saying: "It's about time, darling!"
But what could Craig being the head judge mean for the couples who are lingering dangerously near the bottom of the leaderboard?
Despite his mean-judge persona, Craig didn’t actually vote too harshly this week, with him dishing out plenty of 7s and even a sprinkling of 8s throughout the evening.
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Vicky and Kai earned themselves a 7 for their Samba, while George and Alexis were given the same for their Tango, along with Ellie and Vito for their Couples Choice and Balvinder and Julian for their Paso Doble. There were even a couple of 8s from Craig on Saturday night, with Amber and Nikita earning one for their Argentine Tango, and Lewis and Katya wowing him enough for an 8 for their Foxtrot.
However, La Voix and Alijaz could be in serious trouble if they find themselves in the bottom two with Craig casting the deciding vote after he gave them a measly 3 for their Cha Cha.
After watching their performance, Craig told the couple: "It was like going to the dentist, it left me numb, so much went wrong, no rotation or hip action and legs fully akimbo. But, I can’t help loving you."
The second couple who could be in big trouble at the hands of Craig are Chris and Nadia, who he gave just 4 points to for their Salsa. If Chris and Nadia find themselves in the dance off with La Voix and Alijaz, Craig could have a tough decision on his hands after telling Chris his Salsa technique "lacked any rotation". However, one thing that could work in their favour however were their lifts, which Craig called "extraordinary".
One couple who won’t have to worry if they end up in the dance off are Alex and Johannes, who performed their Rumba to perfection, according to Shirley, who was moved to tears by their dance and awarded them a perfect score of 10.
Even Craig liked what they did, giving them one of the two 8s he handed out on Saturday evening, telling Alex that she needed to "exaggerate the topline but legs, balance and tone are all there, you’re becoming quite a dancer". High praise indeed from the notoriously hard-to-please judge.
But as all devoted Strictly fans know, this show has a habit of throwing in a curveball when it comes to the dance off and it all depends on which way the public vote. Only time will tell if Craig gets his moment of glory as head judge.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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