Latest updates from Strictly Come Dancing week eight as nine pairs take on ballroom battle to earn spot at Blackpool Tower

Sarah and Vito recieved a score of 33 after getting 8,8,8,9 from the judges.

Craig said: ‘Your hands were bothering me’ after Sarah and Vito danced the American Smooth.

He added: ‘You are extremely talented and the cartwheel was spectacular’

Shirley also said she saw ‘issues with gapping’ and wanted ‘neater smaller details’

Anton, however, said the other judges were being ‘nitty gritty in the week before Blackpool’.

Anton also told Vito to ‘point his toes in a cartwheel’.

This week’s favourites to leave the show Shayne and Nancy performed the Rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper.

Motsi said it was not one of their best dances.

Shirley praised the ‘chemistry’ between the couples which she said was improving.

Craig said there was a ‘dead space’ but did give the couple a ‘well done’.

They recieved a score of 30 from the judges

First up tonight was Tasha Ghouri and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec, who took huge applause from the crowd after their quickstep.

Criag however, said he thought it was ‘a little bit safe’, leading to boos from the crowd.

Motsi disagreed, saying she thought the dance had ‘everything tonight’.

Shirley and Anton both said the dance should be enough to take them to Blackpool

They recieved a score of 37 (8, 10, 10, 9) from the judges, the highest quickstep score of the series.

Tess just announced to the audience that Amy Dowden will not be returning to the show and will be replaced by Lauren Oakley.

Claudia said: ‘Amy everyone at Strictly is sending you so much love and we can’t wait to see you back on this dancefloor very very soon.’

The theme tonight… ‘I want to make it to Blackpool’, says Claudia.

After Halloween week and Icons week, there is no overriding theme for the dancers

Get the kettle on, pour a glass of wine, whatever your routine is, you have five minutes to get comfortable.

Week eight of Strictly Come Dancing will begin in five minutes on BBC One.

Let us know your reaction to tonight’s performances by joining in the conversation in our comments section.

Former X Factor winner Shayne Ward with his partner Nancy Xu are favoruites to leave this week.

Odds suggest Shayne and Nancy are unlikely to make it to through to next week’s Blackpool special after their odds were slashed to 10/11 to be voted out of the competition.

Shayne Ward is unlikely to match his X Factor achievement and is now favourite to leave the show, closely followed by opera singer Wynne Evans, who has odds of 9/4.

Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: ‘As far as the odds and punters are concerned, it looks like Shayne Ward’s Strictly journey will come to an end this weekend.’

William Hill also has the same odds of Shayne being given his marching orders, with Wynne next in the firing line.

Here is something to warm you up for tonight – a glimpse of what to look forward too

Here is a list of dances that will be performed this evening and the numbers accompanying them.

Tonight’s dances (may not be in order)

• Chris McCausland and Dianne – Couple’s Choice to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon
• Pete Wicks and Jowita – Couple’s Choice to The Best by Nicotine Dolls
• Montell Douglas and Johannes – Paso Doble to Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifter
• Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas – Argentine Tango to Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys
• Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu – Rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper
• JB Gill and Lauren Oakley – Samba to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes
• Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec – Quickstep to Fantasy by Mariah Carey
• Wynne Evans and Katya Jones – American Smooth to Grace Kelly by MIKA
• Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola – American Smooth to Proud by Heather Small

Another big story this week is new that some of the show’s biggest professionals could be at risk of being axed in a huge shake up.

Sources are claiming that bosses plan to bring in a new generation of young dancers, with up to five professional dancers at risk.

Among those at risk are thought to be Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez and Katya Jones, four of which have already been eliminated from this year’s competition.

A representative for Strictly Come Dancing declined to comment.

The big story this week is that professional dancer Amy Dowden will not be returning to the show this series.

The Welsh dancer, 34, who is understood to be in remission from breast cancer and has Crohn’s disease, was forced to pull out of last weekend’s show after collapsing backstage.

Fellow professional Lauren Oakley was drafted in as her replacement to perform with JLS star JB Gill for Saturday’s night’s show.

It was confirmed on Monday’s episode of It Takes Two that Amy will not return for the rest of the series, as she recovers from a ‘foot injury’.

Lauren Oakley will continue to step in as JB’s dance partner for the remainder of the series.

The singer and Lauren soared to joint top of the leaderboard with their couples’ choice performance to a Bruno Mars Medley, scoring a near-perfect 39 out of 40.

And as the pair were revealed to be safe for another week, JB looked to the camera and mouthed ‘For you, Amy’ as he dedicated the performance to the Welsh dancer.

But can JB and Lauren find themselves at the top end of the leaderboard tonight?

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the Strictly Come Dancing live show.

It is week eight and now nine pairs will battle it out on the ballroom floor to try and book a place in Blackpool.

Last week JB McGill and Tasha Ghouri were the stars of the show, both scoring 39 points.

JB recieved the impressive score after dancing for the first time with new partner Lauren Oakley, after Amy Dowden had to pull out of the show.

And on Monday she announced she will not be returning this series.

Montell Douglas was saved by the judges as Sam Quek became the latest celebrity to exit the competition.

Follow our live updates throughout tonight’s show and let us know your thoughts in the comments!