It was Icons Week on ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ this past weekend, with the remaining eleven couples bringing some legendary figures to life on the dancefloor.
Model and actress Ellie Goldstein danced as Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton to a Spice Girls medley, former soccer star Karen Carney became Celine Dion to a rendition of the superstar’s ‘Think Twice,’ and actor Lewis Cope took on the role of Johnny Cash to dance to the legendary ‘Ring of Fire,’ to give a few examples of what went on during the Saturday, October 25 show.
However, it was a performance by the professional dancers on the Sunday, October 26 results show — which saw former soccer player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink eliminated from series 23 — that really caught the eye, as nine of the female pros became different iterations of Britney Spears for a memorable routine.
Possibly the ‘BEST Pro Dance of All Time’
The four-minute routine, which has been posted to YouTube, featured the likes of Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Lauren Oakley, and Dianne Buswell wearing iconic Britney costumes like the schoolgirl uniform from the “…Baby One More Time” video and the red leather jumpsuit from the “Oops!… I Did It Again” video.
Of course, the male dancers joined their female counterparts for the dance. However, they were, quite frankly, bit-part players on this occasion, as the spotlight shone firmly on the ladies.
Songs that featured in the medley the dancers performed to included both of those mentioned above, “Crazy,” “I’m a Slave 4 U,” “Toxic,” and “Circus.”
The routine prompted one YouTube user to comment, “This might be the BEST pro dance of all time – choreography, costumes, the music were all perfection!”
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fans have since been given an intriguing behind-the-scenes insight into the performance.
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Fans ‘So Happy’ to See the Routine Coming to Life
In a 55-second video posted on the official ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Instagram account, behind-the-scenes footage of the preparations for the Britney Spears routine were revealed to fans.
Footage of the dancers in the makeup chair, scenes in the corridors of Elstree Studios, and several funny moments can be seen in the video — including Buswell humorously reciting the lyrics to “…Baby One More Time” in a broad Australian accent.
In the comments, the video has garnered a positive response to both the dance and the glimpse behind-the-scenes.
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Katya Jones, who took part in the routine wearing Britney’s red leather jumpsuit, wrote, “Girlies smashed it!!”
One user wrote, “Omg im so happy to get all these bits we saw filmed to keep !🔥”
Another fan commented, “Absolute fire from the strictly pro team…. Exceptional 🔥👏 xx”
Someone else enthusiastically said, “This was Epic in all Epic proportions!!!”
Finally, another ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fan wrote, “Best pro dance so far, the choreography was beyond incredible!! Go girls!! 💛💛👏🏻👏🏻🪩🪩”
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ continues this Saturday, November 1, at 6:35 p.m. GMT. Rather excitingly, it’ll be the annual Halloween spectacular.
