Kelvin Fletcher kicked off his Strictly Come Dancing experience in style on Saturday night, soaring to the top of the leaderboard with his Samba performance.
The former Emmerdale star was the only one of this year’s contestants that viewers were yet to see dance, having been brought in as a last-minute replacement when Jamie Laing injured himself during the show’s first group routine.
With all eyes on Kelvin during this series’ first live show, he more than delivered, impressing viewers and judges alike, with the panel giving him and partner Oti Mabuse a whopping 32 points for their must-watch Samba routine.
This score, as pointed out by presenter Claudia Winkleman, was not just the highest week one score since Daisy Lowe in 2015, but also the best ever week-one Samba on Strictly.
At 32 points, Kelvin is now in joint third place for highest-scoring week one routines ever, alongside Daisy Lowe, Abbey Clancy, Jason Donovan and Austin Healey.
Zoë Ball – who now presents spin-off show It Takes Two – holds the disctinction of first place, pulling in an incredible 35 points with her Waltz back in 2005.
Hot on Kelvin’s heels was CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual who, despite being one of this year’s lesser-known stars, caused quite a stir with his dance floor debut.
He and partner Amy Dowden’s Cha Cha earned them 31 points, with the judges praising Karim’s unique moves during his performance.
RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage was also one of the night’s top-scorers, getting the judges on their feet with her fantastic Cha Cha performance, set to Whitney Houston’s So Emotional.
Michelle bagged 30 points for the routine, as did Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin for his Waltz with Diannse Buswell.
At the other end of the scale was Olympian James Cracknell, who got a scathing reception from the judges, earning just 11 points.
Chris Ramsey similarly failed to impress, earning just 13 for his Cha Cha to Lizzo’s Juice.
Strictly continues with its second live show next weekend, after which the public will cast the votes and the judges will decide which of this year’s stars should be sent home first.
Jay McGuiness's Jive
This was the moment that former Wanted singer Jay cemented himself as the favourite to win the 2015 series... and it was only week three (!!!) .
Ore Oduba's Showdance
Before the 2016 final, it looked as though Danny Mac had it in the bag, until Ore and Joanne Clifton came out with this Showdance, which managed to be both heaps of fun and technically impressive.
Faye Tozer's Jazz
Some Strictly fans were unsure when the BBC announced they were introducing three new routines to the show, one of which was Jazz, but any doubts we had went out the window as soon as Faye and Giovanni Pernice delivered this spooky routine.
Alesha Dixon's Cha-Cha-Cha
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When Alesha Dixon performed this show-stopping routine on series five, it was clear she was about to become a big star. She later became the next Arlene Phillips, replacing the veteran on the panel, and released a string of successful tunes post-Strictly.
Debbie McGee's Paso Doble
Reminder: this was Debbie McGee in week one.
Sophie Ellis Bextor's Charleston
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The Charleston was a fairly new dance to Strictly when S.E.B took it on in 2013. And despite it only being week two of the competition, she and partner Brendan Cole bagged a whopping 36 points for the routine.
Danny Mac's Samba
Danny and Oti's 2016 routine still makes us come over a bit funny. Let's put it this way - if it was any hotter, it would have been on literal fire.
Abbey Clancy's Waltz
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2013 champ Abbey wowed the judges with this beautiful waltz in week one of the competition, and brought it back for the final, where they scored a perfect 40 and lifted the Glitterball Trophy.
Jill Halfpenny's Jive
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If you can remember as far back as series two in 2004, you'll no doubt remember this knockout performance from Jill and partner Darren Bennett.
Lisa Riley's Samba
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We don't think anyone has ever had as much fun as Lisa and Robin Windsor performing their Samba on the show in 2012.
Caroline Flack's Charleston
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Cazza's Turkish interpretation of the Charleston cemented her as the favourite to win in 2014. She also performed the dance again in the final, which eventually saw her crowned winner.
Kara Tointon's Argentine Tango
Given the tension in this performance, it's no wonder Kara and Artem Chigvintsev announced they were an item shortly afterwards.
Louis Smith's Showdance
Not only did Louis Smith capture a lot of attention with his toplessness, his dancing was pretty good in this too.
Alexandra Burke's Jive
Alexandra Burke broke the record for the most "10"s given out during a series of Strictly, and with routines like this, it's not hard to see why.
Matt Di Angelo's Salsa
Matt went from Dean Wicks to snake hips with his performance of the Salsa in series five in 2007.
