Strictly: Alexandra Burke avoids the dance-off

By Deputy Chief EditorDecember 11, 2017

167 7 minutes read

Published: 15:55 EST, 10 December 2017 | Updated: 01:17 EST, 11 December 2017

Despite sizzling dancefloor routines and stellar scores from the judges she shockingly ended up in the dreaded dance-off for two weeks running.

And Alexandra Burke couldn't contain her excitement as she made it through it to the Strictly Come Dancing grand final, and avoided being in the bottom two for a third consecutive week.

The singer, 29, screamed as she was given the news she and dance partner Gorka Marquez would be progressing to the final week, before jumping on Gorka and hugging him.

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We did it! Alexandra Burke couldn't contain her excitement as she made it through it to the Strictly Come Dancing grand final, and avoided being in the bottom two for a third consecutive week

A beaming and visibly relieved Alexandra said: 'Not for a second did I think we would get this far – thank you, your support just means the world.'

This means that Alexandra and Gorka will be joining Joe McFadden and Katya Jones, Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice and this week's dance-off survivors Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec in the final.

Alexandra and Gorka topped the leaderboard on Saturday night's show, being awarded their first 40 for the Salsa to Finally by Ce Ce Peniston and 39 for their Viennese Waltz to Everybody Hurts by Tina Arena.

She continued: 'It feels so overwhelming, I am over the moon. I can't even put it into words.'

Dance-off danger: Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec narrowly made it to the final, after winning the dance-off against Mollie King and AJ Pritchard

Hug: The singer, 29, screamed as she was given the news she and dance partner Gorka Marquez would be progressing to the final week, before jumping on Gorka and hugging him

Yes1 A beaming and visibly relieved Alexandra said: 'Not for a second did I think we would get this far - thank you, your support just means the world'

Yes1 A beaming and visibly relieved Alexandra said: 'Not for a second did I think we would get this far – thank you, your support just means the world'

A delighted Gorka praised Alexandra for her resolve, saying: 'She has this strength inside of her and she fights for everything. No matter what happens, she wakes up the next day with a smile.'

Last week Alexandra survived the dance-off for the second consecutive week after she landed into the bottom two with actor Davood Ghadami and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova.

This was made even more jaw-dropping due to the fact that she and Gorka had topped the leaderboard with their Charleston to Supercalifragilistic, scoring a near-perfect 39.

Fighter: A delighted Gorka praised Alexandra for her resolve, saying: 'She has this strength inside of her and she fights for everything. No matter what happens, she wakes up the next day with a smile'

And in week 10 Alexandra made a surprise appearance in the bottom two alongside comedian Susan Calman after landing fourth on the leaderboard with her rumba and winning the paso doble-athon.

Ahead of her performance she opened up about the tough time she'd been receiving from trolls recently, welling up as she admitted it was a stressful task being on the show, but she's always wanted to do it.

The singer admitted she'd had a tough week, but revealed it was all worth it for the show she's always wanted to do, taking place just weeks after she tragically lost her mother.

'Watching the video showed how much love is out there. It's definitely given me the kick I needed,' she admitted between tears as she was shown a video of public supporters.

'It's been a tough week but it was worth it!' Alexandra admitted as Gorka Marquez picked Claudia up in excitement.

Into the final: Last week Alexandra survived the dance-off for the second consecutive week after she landed into the bottom two with actor Davood Ghadami and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova

This came after she opened up to The Telegraph, admitting she struggled to cope 'mentally' with the relentless criticism of trolls during her stint on the show.

'It got to a point where I was like, I can't take any more mentally. It felt like a personal attack'.

She wrote last week: 'I've tried my best to just be strong and brush it all off but mentally it's taking its toll.'

Final four: Joe McFadden and Katya Jones were ecstatic as they heard they had made it into the final

Glee: Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice looked over the moon as they made it though

Relief: Gemma and Aljaz looked relieved as they scraped their way through to the final

Burke also admitted the slew of nasty comments has left her feeling self-conscious because her '100 per cent genuine' emotions are being called fake.

'Twitter seems to have given people permission to be incredibly hurtful,' she told Radio Times, this week. 'They don’t seem to realise that I have feelings and get upset.'

'The saddest thing is that I started the show completely myself – my joy and my tears were 100 per cent genuine, however much people said they were fake – but I’m now so self-conscious, I try not to react at all in case people say, “Oh, look, here are the fake tears again".'

Kiss goodbye? Mollie King and AJ Pritchard looked especially close as they bid farewell to Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night in the semi-final

The star went on: 'I have struggled with some of the public reaction. I've never experienced anything like this.'

Mollie King and AJ Pritchard became the 11th couple to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, narrowly missing out on a place in next week's final.

The Saturdays singer, 30, was eliminated from the competition after finding herself in the bottom two for the third time, alongside actress Gemma Atkinson, 33, who was in the dance-off for the first time.

Reflecting on her time on the show, an emotional Mollie paid a heartfelt tribute to her dance partner AJ, 22, for being her 'hero' during the gruelling competition.

'Couldn't have done it without you': Mollie and AJ faced Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec but missed out on going through to the final

She said: 'AJ, you have been just incredible and you have been my hero for the last couple of months so thank you so much. I couldn’t have done any of it without you.'

Returning the praise in kind, a proud AJ responded: 'I want to say thank you so much for being in training and literally spending all the time working so hard and always willing to try everything and performing every single night as if it’s your last.'

Mollie also complimented the hard work of Gemma and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, along with thanking her fans for getting the pair to the semi-final.

Saying good bye: Though she was emotional, Mollie embraced her counterparts with a smile

She said: 'Congratulations to Gemma and Aljaž because they danced their socks off and totally deserved to be there and congratulations to all the finalists, they’re so incredible and good luck, I can’t wait to watch you all, so go out there and get it! I have so many thank you’s.

Thank you to everyone who has voted us through to the semi-finals, it’s so far beyond what we ever thought that would happen; I’m so so grateful for that.

'Thank you to all the professionals, you have been so much fun and so encouraging. Thank you to the judges, you have just been unbelievable and I will forever remember everything that you said and I will take it on board when I’m dancing at home or wherever I’m dancing.'

Semi-final night: Sending one couple home just before the finale, Tess Daly (right) and Claudia Winkleman (left) glammed up for the night

'And to Tess, Claudia and Zoe, you have been amazing, you have been so so just lovely and above all.'

The pair's time on Strictly came to an end after they failed to impress with their two dances – the Samba to Shakira's Whenever, Wherever and their Waltz to Angel by Sarah McLachlan- and landed bottom of the leaderboard with 56 points.

Gemma and Aljaz were just above with 62 points.

When the dreaded dance-off results were announced Mollie and AJ chose to perform their Waltz again while Gemma and Aljaz picked their Tango to My Sharona by The Knack.

With both couples performing their routines again, it was Gemma and Aljaz who found themselves sailing through to the final with all four judges voting to save them.

Showgirl: The blonde has really risen to the occasion during the competition

Craig Revel Horwood said: 'Both couples neck and neck, both couples ballroom which is unusual, both couples I think pulled out the stops tonight but for me the couple that had the edge…. Gemma and Aljaž.'

Darcey Bussell added: 'Well both couples made a great great improvement but the couple that was more assured and more confident was Gemma and Aljaž.'

Sealing Mollie and AJ's fate, Bruno Tonioli said: 'Well first I want to congratulate you both because you did so well, you improved so much, gave everything you had to this, but I really have to choose the couple that stood out to my eye. I have to choose Gemma and Aljaž.'

Head judge Shirley Ballas' vote therefore did not count but she said she agreed with her fellow judges and would have also saved Gemma and Aljaz.

Saturday night's show saw Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka Marquez top the leaderboard, being awarded their first 40 for the Salsa to Finally by Ce Ce Peniston and 39 for their Viennese Waltz to Everybody Hurts by Tina Arena.

Sunday’s results show featured a stunning musical performance Craig David and Bastille.

The remaining four couples will perform three dances next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns for the glittering grand final on BBC One.

'He was the best part': Mollie paid tribute to her dance partner AJ