Tonight's Fright Night saw the contestants dressed in spooky attire as they performed their routines. TV presenter Laura Whitmore and gymnast Claudia Fragapane stormed to the top of the leaderboard after wowing the judges with their Halloween inspired performances.
TV presenter Laura Whitmore and gymnast Claudia Fragapane stormed to the top of the leaderboard in tonight's Strictly Come Dancing after impressing the judges with their Halloween inspired performances.
The show opened with a spooky dance extravaganza to Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round in tribute to frontman Pete Burns, who died earlier this week.
The first celebrity to perform was Louise Redknapp with dance partner Kevin Clifton. The pair performed an energetic Charleston to Beyonce's Crazy in Love dressed as comic book villains Harley Quinn and the Joker.
Judge Len Goodman described the dance as a "comic book Charleston" and said the routine had "more fun than a Beano".
Bruno Tonioli praised the routine, describing the dance as: "unusual, daring and wonderful".
The pair scored three nines and an eight from Craig Revel Horwood, giving them a total of 35 points.
Next up was Judge Rinder and his Russian dance partner Oksana Platero.
The pair were tasked with performing a Paso Doble dressed as a moth and a butterfly. During training Oksana took her partner to a butterfly and moth sanctuary to help inspire the theme of the dance.
The TV judge flew into the studio and the pair performed a quick-paced Paso to Lady Gaga's Born This Way.
After the performance an excited Bruno Tonioli said: "he was born to dazzle in his own unique way," but he criticised Judge Rinder for losing shaping.
Craig Revel Horwood said: "It was all very silence of the lambs, very gruesome, but I mean it in a good way. It's the darkest and strongest that we've seen you. I liked it very, very much."
The judges all awarded the pair with eight points, giving Judge Rinder and Oksana their highest score of the competition.
Next up was Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane and her dance partner AJ Pritchard.
The pair appeared on the dance floor dressed as a witch and a frog, but a puff of smoke transformed AJ back to his normal state, and the pair performed an American Smooth to Little Mix's Black Magic.
Craig described the dance as "dynamic" and praised Claudia for her footwork.
Darcey said the dance was "beautifully smooth" and Len described it as "spellbinding" and a "top notch performance".
The pair received nines from all four judges, giving them a total score of 36 points and taking them to the top of the leaderboard.
Pop star Anastacia was next to hit the dance floor with partner Brendan Cole.
Brendan missed last week's show due to sickness, and Strictly professional Gorka had to step in at the last minute.
Donned in black capes and face masks, Anastacia and Brendan performed a Jive dressed as two bats to Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell.
Speaking after the performance, Darcey Bussell said: "You have certainly turned on the energy. It was just a little bit flat footed but as a whole it was a very impressive performance."
Len said: "It was a bit like a Meatloaf. It was tasty but there's always things you are not really sure about. You came out and you gave it a performance, but the flicks should come more from the knee."
Bruno described the dance as "totally batty, borderline bonkers," and Craig said it was "flat footed, laboured and sluggish".
The pair scored a total of 25 points, sending them to the bottom of the leaderboard.
Bookies favourite Danny Mac was next up with partner Oti Mabuse.
The pair dressed as Halloween newlyweds and performed a Foxtrot to Hozier's Take Me to Church.
At the end of the routine Danny seemed visibly disappointed, and could be heard repeatedly saying sorry to Oti. Danny then admitted that the dance did not go to plan.
Speaking after the performance Len said: "I was bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I was bewitched by the performance, I was bothered by how many mistakes there were."
Craig said: "Really sad, that could have been a ten. It's just a shame it all went horribly wrong."
Despite the mistakes Danny and Oti scored a respectable 30 points, but it was their lowest score of the show so far.
Irish TV presenter Laura Whitmore was next to take to the dance floor with partner Giovanni Pernice.
Laura was forced to miss last week's live show due to an ankle injury, and said she was devastated to miss out.
The pair performed a terrifying tango to Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones, and Bruno had the highest praise for the routine.
He said: "You two are the sexiest ghouls I have ever seen. That was so sharp, right on it, precise, musicality. You were on fire. Welcome back!"
Craig described the dance as "extremely amazing" and Len said it was the pair's best dance.
The judges all awarded the pair with a near-perfect nine points, giving Laura and Giovanni the highest score of the evening.
Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton were next up dressed as scary sweet shop owners. Behind the scenes footage showed the pair taking part in a pumpkin carving competition to get them in the Halloween spirit during training.
The pair danced a Charleston to Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy and finished the routine with their faces stuffed with marshmallows.
After the performance Craig said: "Your left foot occasionally swivels. I was expecting a lot more from this Charleston. Without swivel it's not a Charleston. It was out of time. But your characterisation was absolutely brilliant."
Darcey described the performance as "sweet, cheeky, crisp and neat".
The judges scored the pair a total of 32 points.
Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford and partner Natalie Lowe were up next.
Greg was given the role of a mourning widow, and the pair danced a rumba to Evanescence's Bring Me Back to Life.
Darcey described the dance as a "very difficult dance for the man", but praised Greg for the passion and drama he put into the performance.
Len said: "There's no doubting your commitment. You give it everything, but I would have liked a bit more hip action."
Craig criticised Natalie for protecting Greg with the routine, and said he could not judge it as a rumba.
Greg and Natalie scored a total of 26 points.
Next up was model Daisy Lowe and Aljaz Skorjanec.
The pair danced the Paso Doble to Santa Esmeralda's version of Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood and were dressed in a Mexican 'Day of the Dead' theme.
The judges were impressed by the performance but gave some constructive criticism for Daisy.
Craig loved the detail in Daisy’s hands and arms, and Darcey loved the drama and strength, but she wanted more exaggeration in the body shapes.
The judges scored Daisy and Aljaz a total of 33 points.
Former Chancellor Ed Balls and Katya Jones were next to perform.
Ed caused a stir last week when he almost dropped Katya in the middle of their American Smooth.
This week Ed was given the part of a mad scientist, and the pair performed a Cha Cha.
Darcey, Len and Bruno were in stitches after the routine, and Bruno described the dance as "toxic, addictive and horribly fabulous". He then described the dance as a "triumph".
Craig said: "That bottom of yours was moving spasmodically. I didn't know where it was going to go next." He then praised the dance, saying it was "on time".
Darcey said: "I am so pleased you are still here. I might be mad but I absolutely loved that. You delivered quite a lot of cha cha actually."
Len described the routine as Ed's best dance.
Ed and Katya scored a total of 26 points, with Bruno awarding Ed with his first 8 score of the competition.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday at 7:15pm on BBC1
