Chris Ramsey dances in Strictly's semi-final

Chris Ramsey will be counting on fans' support as he came bottom of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in tonight's semi-final.

The comedian and dance partner Karen Hauer scored 54 points across their two dances, a full 13 points below EastEnders actress Emma Barton and her partner  Anton Du Beke.

Ramsey and Hauer performed a rumba to Don't Watch Me Cry by Jorja Smith, which Craig Revel Horwood blasted as the 'wrong dance, wrong day'.

But Motsi  says the pair 'captured the essence, sensitive and vulnerable... I believed the story';  Shirley Ballas complained 'it lacked body action' and Bruno Tolioni concluded  it was 'not perfectly technically but you gave honest and depth of feeling'.

They earlier danced a Viennese waltz to Somebody To Love by Queen, which did not impress so much.

Horwood said it 'needed to be smoother', Mabusi told him, 'your eyes shine and sparkle when you dance but it got too low', Ballas said the comic made 'too many mistakes' and Tonioli said that Ramsey was 'a great performer but your footwork went off the rails'.

The comedian has got much further than expected in the BBC One competition thanks to his entertainment value and the support of viewers - who could yet help him make it all the way to the final.

After the show, Ramsey tweeted: 'Thanks for all the lovely comments guys. I poured my soul into that rhumba! (There’s sentence I never thought I’d ever say...)'

And despite his uncompromising reputation, Revel Horwood had some words of praise for Ramsey. After his first dance tonight, the judge said: 'I'm proud of you, you've come from nothing to present as a dancer, truly remarkable.'

Before the show, the comedian posted: 'Just want to say, whatever happens this weekend, support on here has been incredible. In any moments of exhaustion or frustration, I’d read some lush tweets from you lot and start to feel instantly better. Thank you.'

Published: 7 Dec 2019