Alexandra Burke tops the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with spectacular Paso Doble as Charlotte Hawkins comes in last

The singer was given a standing ovation from the judges  
Top of the charts: X Factor winner Alexandra Burke wowed the Strictly Come Dancing judges
BBC/Kieron McCarron
Aime Grant Cumberbatch30 September 2017

Alexandra Burke has come out on top of this week’s Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard thanks to a showstopping Paso Doble.

She and partner Gorka Marquez earned a high score of 36 out of 40 after the judges, who had joined in with the studio audience’s standing ovation, all awarded her nines.

Meanwhile, at the lower end of the leaderboard was Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins, whose disastrous Cha Cha Cha scored her and partner Brendan Coles 12 out of 40.

The Reverend Richard Coles and Chizzy Akadolu also struggled to impress the judges, scoring 17 and 16 respectively.

Bottom of the pile: Brendan Coles and celebrity partner Charlotte Hawkins (BBC)
Kieron McCarron/BBC

Former magicians assisstant ans Paul Daniels' widow Debbie McGee continues to surprise with her dancing skill - she and Giovanni Pernice earned 34 out of 40 for their Viennese Waltz.

As no celebrities left the competition in the first episode of the show, last week’s scores have been carried over and added to this week’s results, which shakes the order up somewhat.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 - In pictures

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Topping the combined leaderboard were McGee and partner Pernice, while Hawkins and partner Brendan Cole came in joint last with Coles and his pro dancer Dianne Buswell.

Aston Merrygold and Janette Manrara placed second, while Burke’s lower score from last week’s show brought her and Marquez down to third overall.

Strictly Come Dancing continues with the results show on Sunday, October 1 at 7.30pm on BBC One.

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