Strictly Come Dancing stars under strain - Glum Shayne Ward as Wynne Evans puts head in hands

Strictly Come Dancing's stars including Shayne Ward and Chris McCausland were spotted letting loose on Friday night before the next live show as the competition heats up

Strictly Come Dancing's cast of 2024 enjoyed a party on Friday night ahead of this evening's live show but two stars appeared to be showing the strain of a difficult week.

Shayne Ward and opera singer Wynne Evans appeared stressed hours before they were due to take to the dancefloor.

Professional dancers and celebrities were seen heading back to their hotel after a night out, and 40-year-old Shayne was seen wearing a hair net in new photos with his dance partner Nancy Xu. The Strictly contestant said her was "channelling his Hilda Ogden impression" in his hair net and seemed nervous after finding himself in the dreaded dance-off last weekend.

One photo shows Shayne looking glum as he turns his head to the right, while in another photo he can be seen talking to Nancy as she writes something on a piece of paper. The singer and actor was also pictured carrying a bag while walking with Nancy, who pointed at his hair net.

After the cast's night out, Wynne Evans was seen sitting in the lobby of the hotel and appeared stressed, holding his head in his hands. It comes after the Welshman's professional dancing partner Katya Jones took a public swipe at him after the ongoing "grope" drama.

The relationship between the couple was put under the spotlight this week after two awkward incidents that were caught on camera during the the live show last Saturday, and left fans concerned for Katya's welfare. Since then, the pair have worked hard to persuade their followers and Strictly fans that they are good friends, and the 52-year-old Welshman posted a clip of him carrying Katya up a mountain ahead of training.

"I've got to carry her up a mountain as she's brought these ridiculous London shoes. Do you know where we’re going?" Wynne asked, as Katya replied: "To get a bacon roll!" The professional dancer quickly commented on the video with a barbed joke, saying: "Only fair, since I’ve been carrying you around the dance floor all week!!" Some fans were taken aback, however others stated that it proved the duo had a good friendship.

The Strictly competition is now heating up as the 12 couples remaining enter the fifth week of the dance contest. This evening, Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer will be dancing a Samba to Rose Royce's "Car Wash" while Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał will dance a Rumba to "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis.

Other dances include Chris McCausland's and Dianne Buswell's Waltz to "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will dance a Samba to "Do It Do It Again" by Italian singer Raffaella Carrà.

Last weekend, DIY SOS star Nick Knowles and his partner Luba Mushtuk were eliminated from Strictly after a dance-off with Shayne and Nancy. Both couples performed their routines again as they were in the bottom two; Shayne and Nancy performed their Cha Cha to Ain't No Love (Ain’t No Use) by Sub Sub feat. Melanie Williams. Then, Nick and Luba performed their Charleston to Rain on the Roof from the film Paddington 2.

Nick has been battling injury during his time on the show after first injuring his shoulder while fixing a car and later injuring his leg in rehearsals. He was granted a bye during week three, which was also Movie Week where he had been due to perform the Charleston to a song from the film Paddington 2. However, he was finally able to perform the dance when he returned for week four. However, he found himself in the bottom two and was eventually eliminated.

With three votes in favour of Shayne and Nancy, they won the majority vote meaning that Nick and Luba would be leaving the competition. Head Judge Shirley Ballas also agreed and said she would have decided to save Shayne and Nancy.

Fans were left disappointed after Nick was given the boot with one saying: "I can't believe Nick is gone after all of that." Another echoed: "Omg NOT Nick!!!! He was only just back and now he's gone."

"I love Shayne but I think Nick should have stayed," someone else wrote on X. While another Strictly fan added: "Sad to see Nick go but Shayne deserved to stay. Nick certainly didn't have an easy time on the show."

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