Ballas vote eliminates Antonia and Xu from Strictly

Bethany Antonia and professional partner Nancy Xu were eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday, November 8, after head judge Shirley Ballas cast the deciding vote to save their dance-off opponents, Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby. Antonia and Xu were the sixth couple to leave the 2026 series.

The four judges split on the result after both couples performed again. Anton Du Beke voted to save Mercer and Ingoldsby, while Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood chose Antonia and Xu. Ballas’s vote settled the decision in favour of Mercer and Ingoldsby.

The dance-off followed Saturday’s live show, where Antonia and Xu scored 30 for their foxtrot to Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love.” They were joint fourth on the judges’ leaderboard before public votes were included. Mercer and Ingoldsby scored 26 for their waltz to “That Ain’t You” by Mulaa Joans, leaving them joint bottom on judges’ scores.

The programme did not publish public-vote totals in the reports, so the figures do not show how voting affected which couples entered the dance-off. Both couples performed their respective routines again before the judges made their choices.

Antonia, an actor, and Xu had previously faced another...