{"id":620090,"date":"2026-10-04T06:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/620090\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T06:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:30:14","slug":"delta-goodrem-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with-after-topping-strictly-leaderboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/620090\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta Goodrem a \u2018force to be reckoned with\u2019 after topping Strictly leaderboard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Australian singer, 41, has been paired with professional dancer Kai Widdrington, 31, on this season of the BBC series.<\/p>\n

After coming second with a score of 29 on last week\u2019s show, they are currently topping the leaderboard following their performance on Movies Week.<\/p>\n

The pair performed an American smooth to I\u2019ll Never Love Again from A Star Is Born, earning a score of 30 points this time around.<\/p>\n

\"DeltaDelta Goodrem has been called a \u2018force to be reckoned with\u2019 on Strictly Come Dancing (Guy Levy\/BBC)<\/p>\n

They are now sitting at the top of the leaderboard with a total score of 59.<\/p>\n

Judge Motsi Mabuse told Goodrem she had a \u201cspecial talent to give feeling\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got everything it takes. I believe in you,\u201d she said, while head judge Shirley Ballas called her a \u201cforce to be reckoned with\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fellow judges Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood said they \u201cloved\u201d the performance.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the first elimination of the season, Gavin And Stacey actress Melanie Walters is at the bottom of the leaderboard.<\/p>\n

\"MelanieGavin And Stacey actress Melanie Walters is currently at the bottom of the leaderboard (Guy Levy\/BBC)<\/p>\n

She and partner Aljas Skorjanec performed a waltz to Edelweiss from The Sound Of Music and were awarded 15 points, bringing their total score from the first two shows to 30.<\/p>\n

Currently trailing behind Goodrem is \u201cThe Dogfather\u201d Graeme Hall and his partner Lauren Oakley \u2013 who were given a score of 31 for their waltz to The Godfather Waltz from The Godfather.<\/p>\n

Mabuse called it \u201cmesmerising\u201d while Du Beke said: \u201cI think you could become one of the best ballroom dancers we\u2019ve ever had on Strictly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GraemeGraeme Hall is in joint second place on the leaderboard (Guy Levy\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Speaking to the couple after their performance, host Johannes Radebe even held back tears while praising their efforts.<\/p>\n

Sitting in equal second place with 55 points is EastEnders\u2019 Lacey Turner and partner Vito Coppola.<\/p>\n

They scored 28 for their quickstep to I Knew It, I Knew You from Toy Story 5.<\/p>\n

An improvement of one point from last week, Du Beke said their level had \u201cshot up so immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sitting at the other end of the leaderboard are Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden with a total score of 33.<\/p>\n

This week they tackled a cha cha to I\u2019m Always Here from Baywatch.<\/p>\n

\"AmyAmy Dowden and Chris Appleton (Guy Levy\/BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

Mabuse and Du Beke said they saw \u201chuge improvements\u201d, with the latter adding: \u201cThe performance was another level, and the dancing will keep improving if you keep at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Appleton \u2013 a celebrity hair stylist \u2013 said he did not want to let his partner down, adding: \u201cI am really trying but also really enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting third from the bottom are Big Brother host Will Best and his partner Dianne Buswell.<\/p>\n

After opening the show last week, they took on a foxtrot to Old Time Rock & Roll from Risky Business, earning 19 points. They now have a total of 37.<\/p>\n

The first performance of the night came from former Love Island winner Dani Dyer and her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, who performed a foxtrot to Beauty And The Beast from the film of the same name.<\/p>\n

\"DaniDani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin (Guy Levy\/BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

The pair were awarded a score of 23, with Du Beke saying he \u201cloved the attention to detail\u201d and calling it a \u201cjoy to watch\u201d.<\/p>\n

They were followed by John Nellis and Katya Jones, who topped last week\u2019s leaderboard with 31.<\/p>\n

This time around they had a couple\u2019s choice to An Irish Party In Third Class from Titanic.<\/p>\n

Revel-Horwood said it was \u201ctoo heavy-footed\u201d and called the end an \u201centire tragedy\u201d, as the couple were awarded 23 points.<\/p>\n

\"AlexisAlexis Warr and Shaun Wright-Phillips (Guy Levy\/BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

Last week former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and his partner Alexis Warr were one of the couples at the bottom of the leaderboard with 15 points.<\/p>\n

Closing the show, the pair did a salsa to You Should Be Dancing from Saturday Night Fever, which Mabuse said was a \u201chuge improvement\u201d from a week ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou improved off the charts,\u201d Ballas added. They were awarded 25 points.<\/p>\n

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday at 7.10pm on BBC One.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Australian singer, 41, has been paired with professional dancer Kai Widdrington, 31, on this season of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-620090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}