STRICTLY Come Dancing has revealed the identity of the next star to be voted off the competiton.
Footballer Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer were axed from the contest after going head-to-head with a show favourite on the BBC dancing contest.
In a shocking dance-off, Paul found himself against JLS star JB Gill and his professional partner Amy Dowden.
Fans and the judges alike were left gasping when it was revealed that JB, arguably one of the stronger dancers on the programme, would have to dance again for his place in the contest.
It meant that Paul’s fate was seemingly sealed having previously been forced into a dance-off alongside Toyah Wilcox.
Paul and Karen performed their routine, a Samba to Car Wash by Rose Royce, but it wasn’t enough to win over the panel.
All four judges revealed they were in agreement in choosing to keep JB and axe sports star Paul following the dance-off.
As Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all agreed to save JB, Shirley Ballas‘ vote was not required but she admitted to show host Tess Daly that she would have also chosen to save JB.
As the news began to settle on their exit, Paul told Tess: “It’s been really good.
“For anybody I talk to, I would say you’ve got to go on this show. It’s amazing – everybody.
“There’s a Tottenham fan over there called Lincoln and even he’s nice! It’s been amazing, honestly, amazing. I loved every minute of it, I’ve had a great teacher.”
He went onto add of his pro partner Karen: “She’s been amazing, absolutely amazing and I couldn’t wish for a better coach. I’ve loved every minute of it.
“I can dance now – I’ve won because I can dance, I couldn’t dance before and I can half dance now. It’s a bonus, absolute bonus.”
Speaking to Paul, Karen then told him: “Absolutely, you’ve been a joy. I’ve never giggled this much.
“My abs are really tight now. I am so proud of you. Every week you have showed up, you have improved.
“You’re what Strictly is about and I want to thank you for bringing such joy and just showing everyone that it is possible with a little bit of work and lots of giggles.”
It means that the duo have just missed out on making it to Strictly’s famous Halloween week.
The remaining pairs will all be turning on the fear factor for some spell-bounding routines.
Here's who is matched with who this series...
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas
JB Gill and Amy Dowden MBE
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe
Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec
Tom Dean MBE and Nadiya Bychkova
Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones
Sam Quek MBE and Nikita Kuzmin
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones
