
No one wants to be in the bottom two on Strictly Come Dancing, but it sounds like the process of organising the dance-off is even more brutal than we realised!
According to professional Kai Widdrington, the Strictly stars actually have to rehearse the elimination ahead of time, so they’re all prepared for when the results show actually happens.
Of course, the celebs and their pro partners don’t know who’s going to be in the bottom two, so they have to ‘pretend’ someone is being eliminated during the dress run.
Kai, who is partnered with Loose Women’s Kaye Adams this series, told Metro.co.uk: ‘The worst thing is, because we do a dress run, we have to dress rehearse the results show and we have to pretend that someone’s in the dance-off.’
He added: ‘So, we have to rehearse a dance-off with someone getting eliminated. But it actually, weirdly, prepares you for the live show if you’re in the dress rehearsal.’
‘If you are somehow in the dance-off in the live show, then you’ve already done it in the rehearsal and you know what it feels like.’

Kaye chimed in jokingly: ‘I think that’s a good idea. I’m up for that.’
Kai, whose first partner was AJ Odudu last year, said it can ‘sometimes help’ when you are in the real dance-off, if you’ve already had chance to practise.
‘We always think of it as an extra rehearsal – and you get one up on the competition.’


Naturally, the Strictly cast of 2022 have been training for hours on end to perfect their challenging routines, and there have already been injuries, just two weeks in.
Broadcaster Kaye recently showed off bandages on her ribs, which she explained was a result of a ‘mistimed lift.’
‘I slightly mistimed a lift as Kai was chucking me over his shoulder. You know how you bump your elbow on the end of a table? Well, I bumped my rib on Kai’s rock-solid abs.’
‘They’re absolutely lethal,’ she teased.

Fortunately, Kai is now ‘ABSolutely fine’ (pardon the pun) and was able to deliver a lively Charleston on Saturday night.
They weren’t the only couple tackling the 1920s dance, as former pro footballer Tony Adams and his partner Katya Jones also put their own spin on it.
We also had a dazzling quickstep from Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice, and a tear-jerking waltz from Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin.
But, it was singer Molly Rainford and new pro Carlos Gu who topped the leaderboard with their combined scores, after a fierce samba followed by an energetic quickstep.
There’s still all to play for though as the first public vote of series 20 looms, and two couples have to put that dance-off practice into action for real, hoping they can pull out all the stops and survive to dance another week.
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday and Sunday on BBC One.