Emily Bashforth and
Alana Anderson
Published November 30, 2025 8:00pm
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The latest celebrity to leave Strictly 2025 has been revealed (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron)
Key Points
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- Alex Kingston was eliminated from Strictly after performing with a dislocated rib and losing a dance-off
- Balvinder Sopal sets a record by surviving five dance-offs, advancing to the quarterfinals
- Strictly viewers showed concern for Alex’s injury, prompting discussions about the physical toll on contestants
With the Strictly Come Dancing final fast approaching, the results of the eighth celebrity to head home have never felt so tense.
Actress Alex Kingston, 62, became the latest celebrity to be eliminated from the show, after powering through her performance despite a ‘dislocated rib’.
Viewers expressed concern for Alex last night, as she was visibly struggling to perform her choreography and was even heard saying at one point: ‘I can’t move.’
Having begged the BBC to offer medical intervention, fans feared Alex would otherwise have to withdraw from the so-called ‘cursed’ series should her discomfort persist.
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However, sadly, her journey to the Glitter Ball has come to an end.
The Doctor Who star and her professional dance partner, Johannes Radebe, lost the dance-off to EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and her pro, Julian Caillon.
Alex Kingston was voted out after taking on Balvinder Sopal in the dance-off (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron)
The remaining couples rushed to bid her farewell (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron)
This means soap star Balvinder has now survived five dance-offs, beating singer Jamelia and her partner Tristan MacManus’ record from the 2015 series.
The couples performed their routines again from Saturday night, with Alex and Johannes dancing their cha cha cha to Anita Ward’s Ring My Bell.
The pair failed to make it through to the quarter-final after the majority of the judges chose to save Balvinder and Julian, who danced a lively jive to Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale.
Following the performances, the judges delivered their votes, with Anton Du Beke choosing to save Alex and Johannes while Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse saved Balvinder and Julian.
Head judge Shirley Ballas, who had the casting vote this week, decided to also save Balvinder and Julian, securing their place in Strictly’s famous Musicals Week.
When asked about her time on the show, Alex told host Tess Daly: ‘I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would last this long. It’s been just the most incredible journey for me.
Balvinder and her pro partner, Julian Caillon, have set a new dance-off record (Picture: Kieron McCarron/BBC/PA Wire)
Could the EastEnders queen make the final? (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
‘I feel quite proud of myself because I’ve loved the process, I mean, 100%, you can tell by my smile. Everyone always says that their dance partner is a friend for life, but JoJo really will be.’
Beloved pro Johannes added: ‘I’ve never grinned as much as I have in the last few weeks. Thank you, Alex, for being a trooper; I will hold on to the memories. As far as the dancing goes, I think we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve.
‘These memories are just the beginning for us; we can say that we are very much a Strictly family.’
Alex was the latest celebrity to suffer an injury on this year’s series of the show, with Kristian Nairn, Dani Dyer, Stefan Dennis, and La Voix all pulling out.
Viewers had spotted medical tape on her side last Saturday, shortly before her daughter, Salome Violetta Haertel, 24, commented on a video of her with: ‘So so proud!!! Slayed on the dance floor, dislocated rib and all!!!’
Alex later reassured her followers that she only had a ‘minor injury’, telling fans: ‘I just want to assure everyone that I am completely fine,’ adding that injuries were ‘part and parcel of dancing at these levels’.
Alexx has been performing with a rib injury all week (Picture: Kieron McCarron/BBC/PA Wire)
Partner Johannes Radebe had to help her up the stairs last night (Picture: BBC)
She continued: ‘The comment was made by my concerned and loving daughter…nothing more.’
However, come this weekend, her pain only seemed to have worsened, making her departure from the dancefloor all the more emotional for audiences to watch.
Taking to X upon learning of the ‘devastating’ latest result, @louise_sasha20 wrote: ‘Absolutely gutted for Alex, but it was the right choice. I feel she needs to recover from her injury and if she carries on it will make it worse.’
Which celebrity has been in the most Strictly dance-offs?
- Jamelia (2015) faced five dance-offs in nine weeks on the show
- Balvinder Sopal (2025) faced five dance-offs in 10 weeks. She is the first celebrity to win five dance-offs
- Three celebrities have survived four dance-offs and then reached the final:
- Molly Rainford (2022)
- Fleur East (2022)
- Jamie Laing (2020)
‘Alex has been amazing but from her own comments tonight I think she’s pretty knackered, it’s a brutal schedule & she should be very proud of what she’s done’, said @CarolineIn36350.
Earlier last night, Alex admitted to Claudia Winkleman that she had been physically ‘suffering’ as the contest reached its ‘sharp end’, sharing:
‘It’s never really kind of discussed, when you’re at the sharp end, how much our bodies are really suffering,’ she said as her fellow contestants and pros nodded in agreement.
The actress admitted she was ‘suffering’ physically, with viewers noticing she had tape on her ribs in Blackpool (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
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Up Next
Previous Page Next Page‘My 62-year-old self is saying, “What are you putting me through?” but my spirit and my soul is going, “La, la, la, la, la, I don’t want to know, I want to keep on dancing!”
‘But there is a point where you go, “This is what the life of a dancer is like”.’
Alex then said the professionals will be able to relate to her ‘physical problems and fatigue’.
Comment now Do you think Balvinder could make the Strictly final?Comment NowMeanwhile, Balvinder survives to dance another week, with viewers declaring her ‘unstoppable’ after being in the bottom two so many times yet maintaining her fighting spirit, with many championing her for the final.
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Strictly viewers beg BBC to take action after Alex Kingston winces in pain with injury
Channel: TV TV 12 hours ago By Emily Bashforth - Balvinder Sopal’s Strictly Come Dancing journey has felt cruel and unjustified
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‘Balvinder Sopal – Strictly Come Dancing Quarter Finalist and 5 time dance off survivor. Can’t lie it does have a good ring to it’, wrote @RyanSoapKing25.
@enthughesed echoed: ‘Balvinder is unstoppable. 5 danceoffs won. 6 weeks in a row with her favourite to be eliminated and she is still going!’
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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