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Strictly 2021: Rhys Stephenson makes history with show-stopping routine

Rhys Stephenson's dance was perfection!

rhys dance
Matthew Moore
Online News Writer & Diversity and Inclusion Lead
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CBBC star Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu is one of our favourite pairings on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, and the pair just made history with their latest routine.

The pair danced the Charleston, fittingly to a song called The Charleston, and they blew fans away with jaw-dropping choreography and energy to make an Olympian jealous.

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The pair received a standing ovation following the conclusion of their routine and got high praise from the judges, with Craig Revel Horwood deeming them "ah-may-zing".

rhys dance partner

Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu

The couple were shocked as the judges awarded them full marks for their routine, something Claudia Winkleman told them made history as it was the earliest in the show's history that a couple had gotten a perfect score for the dance.

Viewers at home were similarly in love with the dance, as one enthused: "OMG Rhys and Nancy's Charleston was phenomenal, the dance of the season so far," and second commented: "40 points for Rhys & Nancy!! So, so well deserved."

A third said: "Rhys! What a dance!!!!" while a fourth seemed certain that Rhys was going to go far in the competition. "Rhys is the fast becoming the front runner now," they said.

The score is only the second perfect score of the series, with the first being given out to Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice following their show-stopping tango.

After their score, Giovanni was in tears, and gave Rose a long kiss on the forehead. Claudia joked: "He's also in tears which is problematic with that much eyeliner on!"

Speaking of the performance, Anton said: "I've written a few things down here, and they all basically say perfect! Congratulations." Craig added: "What's the sign for, 'You smashed it' darling?'"

VIDEO: Anton du Beke reveals Strictly bosses turned him down as head judge

Motsi said: "Rose… I've seen a couple of dances, but this one will remain epic… the way you two dance together… this was out of this world… well done!"

Shirley concluded: "You are absolutely brilliant, but one of the best parts of that whole Tango was how you kept your body close and your head to the right… wasn't she fabulous darling?!"

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