"This has been the highest moment of my career"
This weekend of dancing did not disappoint – but as we saw the highest score of the series, with one partnership scoring an almost perfect 39 points, it was soon time for another couple to bid farewell to the Strictly ballroom.
After the judge's scores were combined with viewer votes, comedian Eddie Kadi and partner Karen Hauer found themselves dancing for a place in next week's Halloween spook-tacular special against Love Island star Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima.
Eddie and Karen took to the floor first to perform their sassy Samba to 'Calm Down' by Rema and Selena Gomez. Zara and Graziano then fought to impress the judges one more time with their romantic American Smooth to 'Can't Fight The Moonlight' by LeAnn Rimes.
All four judges (Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas) unanimously voted to save Zara and Graziano, meaning Eddie and Karen became the fourth couple to leave the competition.
Speaking to Tess Daly about his time on the show, Eddie shared how special the experience has been for him: "I've really enjoyed this, it's something I've always wanted to do — I love dancing. This has been the highest moment of my career — it's the happiest I've ever been, but not just for me, my family, my little baby girl is at home doing the Men in Black dance.
"More importantly, this little African boy, I just wanted my culture to shine. Everything I stand for, when it comes to my comedy, when it comes to my presenting, is based on my culture, is based on my upbringing and I wanted that to shine most importantly."
He also paid tribute to professional partner Karen, saying: "There are two parts to this show — we want to entertain, I believe that God has brought this to me, I just want to make people happy and this gem over here has kept me happy — I love you so much, God bless you."
Meanwhile, Karen spoke of how much she'll miss her partner, thanking him for always being a positive figure for everyone on the show and shared the pair's plans to take up Congolese dancing.
"You are a treasure, I'm going to miss you," she began. "I just want to thank you so much for being so positive and bringing such light and smiling, just a beauty to all of us."
Eddie and Karen finished bottom of the leaderboard after scoring 24 points for their Samba. This week also saw Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin top the leaderboard, continuing to rewrite the Strictly history books with three 10s in week 5 after their sizzling Salsa.
The results show also featured an astonishing 60s Fosse-inspired professional number and a special Planet Earth III themed performance from Bastille singing their hit 'Pompeii'.
