The class of 2023 took to the dancefloor for the first time on Strictly Come Dancing last night as the 15 couples each performed an unlearned dance.
On what proved to be an impressive night overall, it was a case of saving the best until last as actor Nigel Harman and his partner Katya Jones racked up a top score of 32 points for their Paso doble to Nirvana's seminal 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
Others to show early promise included soap stars Bobby Brazier and Ellie Leach, veteran broadcaster Angela Rippon, West End star Layton Williams and tennis icon Annabel Croft.
As keeping with week one tradition, none of the contestants was eliminated this week and instead the judges' scores will be rolled over and combined with next week's scores, after which one celeb will be sent packing.
Strictly week one leaderboard in full:
1. Nigel Harman and Katya Jones - 32 points
2= Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice - 29 points
2= Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell - 29 points
2= Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola - 29 points
2= Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin - 29 points
6= Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington - 28 points
6= Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe - 28 points
8. Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu - 23 points
9= Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer - 22 points
9= Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley - 22 points
11. Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystal - 21 points
12= Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk - 19 points
12= Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima - 19 points
14. Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez - 18 points
15. Les Dennis and Nancy Xu - 16 points
Strictly continues next Saturday at 6.20pm on BBC One.
Neil Wilkes
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