Who left Strictly 2026? Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec go after dance-off with Shaun Wright-Phillips
Gavin and Stacey star Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec are the second couple to leave Strictly Come Dancing 2026 after a dance-off with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr. Here is how the judges voted.
Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec have become the second couple to leave Strictly Come Dancing 2026, after losing Sunday night's dance-off to Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr. The Gavin and Stacey actress, 64, bowed out in the results show on 11 October, a week after hairstylist Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden became the first couple to go home.
Saturday night had been a mixed one for both pairings. Melanie and Aljaž danced a Charleston to Gina G's Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit and scored 17 points, with Craig Revel Horwood admitting he didn't love the routine while Motsi Mabuse encouraged Melanie to keep going. Shaun and Alexis scored 15 for their quickstep to The Monkees' I'm a Believer, and once the judges' marks and the viewers' votes were combined, the two couples found themselves in the bottom two and had to perform their routines a second time.
When it came to the judges' decision, there was little doubt about where the majority stood. Craig, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Shaun and Alexis, and although Motsi backed Melanie and Aljaž, the vote finished three to one in the former footballer's favour.
The Charleston turned out to be Melanie's best score of the series. She had opened her campaign with 15 for a cha cha cha and earned the same mark in Movie Week for a waltz to Edelweiss from The Sound of Music, so Saturday's routine was a step forward, even if it was not enough to keep her in the competition.
The Welsh actress is best known as Gwen West, Stacey's mum in the BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey, a part she played from the show's launch in 2007 right through to the 2024 Christmas special. Soap fans may also remember her from Hollyoaks, and she even turned up in Coronation Street early in her career. Her other television work includes Doc Martin, Being Human and Beyond Paradise, alongside films such as Submarine.
Melanie and Aljaž are due to look back on their time in the competition on It Takes Two on Monday evening on BBC Two. Anyone looking back at the couples who did go all the way can find them in our guide to every Strictly Come Dancing winner from 2004 to 2025.
Thirteen couples now remain, and they return for Icons Week on Saturday 17 October, when Shaun and Alexis will be hoping their second chance leads to a stronger score and a safer Sunday. Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Images: BBC.
