Who Left Strictly? Sarah Storey Out in Icons Week Shock

Last Updated: 20 October 2026

Viewers asking who left strictly this weekend got a genuine shock, as reports confirmed Dame Sarah Storey became the third celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing 2026. The Paralympic champion and her professional partner Julian Caillon were eliminated in the Sunday 18 October results show, bringing Icons Week to a sad end for one of the series’ most admired couples.

This guide explains exactly who left strictly in Week 4, how the leaderboard, the public vote and the dance-off combined to send Storey home, and what her exit means for the eleven couples who remain. It also looks back at the eliminations that came before hers, revisits the colour and costumes that made Icons Week so memorable, and ahead to Week 5, so you can follow the rest of the series with the full picture in mind, whether you missed the results show entirely or simply want the details confirmed clearly in one place.

Who left Strictly in Icons Week? Reports say Dame Sarah Storey is who left strictly in Week 4 of the 2026 series. She and Julian Caillon finished bottom of the leaderboard with 21 points, lost the dance-off to Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, and left on Sunday 18 October.

Who Left Strictly? The Icons Week Result Explained

The question of who left strictly each week asks which celebrity and professional pairing was eliminated in that week’s Sunday results show, after the judges’ scores and the public vote were combined.

Icons Week is always one of the most theatrical nights of a Strictly series. The celebrities dress as musical legends, the judges join in with costumes of their own, and the routines lean heavily on character as well as technique. In 2026, reports say the theme produced some of the most memorable looks of the series so far, with Dani Dyer channelling Mariah Carey and Jamie Winstone transformed into David Bowie.

Beneath the sequins, though, the stakes were exactly the same as any other week. When the judges’ scores from Saturday night were combined with the viewers’ votes at home, two couples found themselves in the dreaded dance-off. Reports confirm that the answer to who left strictly this time was Storey and Caillon, who could not survive a second performance of their Tango in front of the judges.

Storey’s exit matters because of who she is beyond the ballroom. As Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, she arrived on the show with a huge public profile and a reputation for fierce competitiveness built over three decades of elite sport. Her departure in Week 4 is therefore one of the early talking points of the whole series, and it reshapes the field for the weeks ahead. You can follow the series itself on the official BBC Strictly Come Dancing programme page, which holds episode guides and the series archive.

Sarah Storey’s Tango and the Bottom of the Leaderboard

Storey and Caillon performed a Tango to “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain on Saturday night, with Storey dressed as Twain herself for Icons Week. It was a bold concept, pairing one of country-pop’s most confident songs with the sharp, stalking character the Tango demands. Reports say the routine, however, did not convince the judging panel.

The couple finished bottom of the Saturday leaderboard with 21 points, reports say. In a week when the joint top couples reached 34, that gap left them exposed. Strictly history shows that finishing last with the judges does not automatically mean elimination — a strong public vote can rescue a couple — but it does mean a couple needs its supporters to vote in serious numbers.

That rescue did not come. When the votes were counted, Storey and Caillon were placed in the dance-off, and the question of who left strictly came down to one repeated routine and the judges’ decision. For a competitor used to controlling her own destiny through sheer performance, the dance-off format — where four judges hold the final say — must have felt like an unfamiliar kind of pressure.

• The routine: a Tango to “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain.
• The score: 21 points, bottom of the Saturday leaderboard, according to reports.
• The costume: Storey performed dressed as Shania Twain for Icons Week.
• The outcome: the public vote placed the couple in the Sunday dance-off.

The Dance-Off Against Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu

Standing across the dancefloor from Storey and Caillon were Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu. Reports say Antonia and Xu had scored 27 points on Saturday with a Cha Cha to “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, which left them third from bottom of the leaderboard. That six-point cushion over Storey and Caillon mattered, but in a dance-off the Saturday scores are only background — both couples dance again, and the judges vote on what they see in the room.

Both couples repeated their routines, and then the judges delivered their verdicts one by one. Reports say Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all voted to save Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu. With three votes cast the same way, the result was decided before head judge Shirley Ballas needed to use her casting vote, which reports confirm she did not need on this occasion.

That unanimous direction from the three voting judges settled who left strictly in Week 4. Storey and Caillon became the third couple to leave the 2026 series, following the first elimination of the run a fortnight earlier. However disappointing the result, reports describe a gracious farewell: Storey praised Caillon as “the most amazing teacher”, said she was proud of what they had done and that she had enjoyed every minute of the experience.

It is worth remembering how fine the margins can be at this stage of the competition. A score of 27 left Antonia and Xu in the dance-off despite a crowd-pleasing song and character, while 21 left Storey and Caillon with no room for error at all. Our full Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard guide tracks how the scores have built up across the series so far.

Icons Week Highlights: Costumes, Scores and Surprises

Icons Week delivered far more than an elimination. At the top of the leaderboard, reports say two couples shared first place on 34 points: Cach Mercer with Maddie Ingoldsby, and Jaime Winstone with Carlos Gu. A tie at the top in Week 4 underlines how open this series remains, with no single couple running away from the rest of the field.

The costumes were a show in themselves. Alongside Dyer as Mariah Carey and Winstone as David Bowie, reports say Will Best took to the floor as Elton John — a fitting choice for one of British pop’s greatest showmen. Even the judges joined the fun: Motsi Mabuse dressed as Beyoncé, Shirley Ballas as Lady Gaga, and Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke arrived as Noel and Liam Gallagher, to the delight of the studio audience.

That sense of occasion is part of why the question of who left strictly trends so hard every Sunday. Theme weeks raise the entertainment value, but they also raise the risk: a celebrity who looks the part still has to master a technically demanding dance, in character, live on television. Storey’s Tango showed how unforgiving that combination can be when the judges are marking strictly on technique as well as performance.

1. Joint top: Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, and Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu, on 34 points.
2. Dance-off survivors: Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, saved by three judges’ votes.
3. Third from bottom: Antonia and Xu’s Saturday score of 27 points.
4. Bottom: Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon, on 21 points.
5. Eliminated: Storey and Caillon, the third couple to leave the series.

Strictly 2026 Eliminations So Far

Storey’s departure is the third elimination of the 2026 series, reports say, which means the competition is now moving from its settling-in phase into its serious middle weeks. The first celebrity to leave the series went on 4 October, when Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden were eliminated. Each week since has trimmed the field further, and the pattern of who left strictly so far shows how quickly early promise can fade once the dances grow harder.

There is a rhythm to every Strictly series. The opening weeks forgive a great deal, because the public is still getting to know the celebrities and the judges are marking potential as much as polish. By Week 4, that patience runs out. Routines are longer, techniques are more exposed, and a single weak dance can undo three good ones — especially when, as with Storey and Caillon, it lands a couple at the very bottom of the board.

For readers catching up, the BBC’s own Strictly hub rounds up the latest news and clips from the series, while our guide to Strictly Come Dancing 2026 follows the current run week by week. Keeping track of who left strictly each Sunday is the simplest way to see the shape of the series: who is improving, who is surviving on public support, and who the judges clearly favour when a dance-off is close.

Storey’s exit also removes one of the series’ most recognisable names from the running. Star power does not guarantee votes, as this result proves, but it does change the dynamic of the remaining field. The eleven couples left now include the joint leaderboard-toppers, the dance-off survivors and several pairings who have yet to face real danger — a mix that usually produces the most unpredictable stretch of the competition.

There is a wider point about representation here, too. Storey competed as one of Britain’s best-known Paralympic athletes, and her presence in the line-up brought audiences who might not usually follow a celebrity dance series. Reports of strong interest in her routines suggest that casting travelled well beyond the show’s regular viewers. Even in defeat, a Week 4 exit after four live performances, a themed costume night and a fully contested dance-off represents a substantial run — and a body of work that introduced her sporting story to a Saturday-night audience measured in millions.

What Happens Next in Week 5

Eleven couples remain in the competition, reports say, and they return for Week 5 on Saturday 24 October. Previews list the live show on BBC One at 6.30pm, with the series presented, per 2026 previews, by Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe. The results show will follow on Sunday, when another couple will face the dance-off and the question of who left strictly will be asked all over again.

Week 5 is often the point where the competition quietly divides. Couples who have scored in the thirties can start to build momentum towards the final, while those hovering near the bottom know that one more low score will probably put them in the dance-off regardless of the public vote. Antonia and Xu, having survived one dance-off already, will be especially keen to climb away from danger.

For the joint leaders, Mercer and Ingoldsby and Winstone and Gu, the task is different: consistency. Topping the board in Icons Week counts for little if the next routine slips, because the leaderboard resets every Saturday. The only history that carries forward is reputation — with the judges, and with the viewers deciding who to save when the phone lines open.

Whatever happens, Storey’s contribution should not be forgotten in the rush towards Week 5. She brought the mentality of a champion to the training room, praised her teacher warmly on leaving, and said she had enjoyed every minute. In a series built on celebrity journeys, reports of her farewell suggest she left with exactly the grace her sporting career would lead anyone to expect.

Conclusion

So, who left strictly in Week 4? Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon. Bottom of the leaderboard with 21 points for their Shania Twain Tango, they lost the dance-off to Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, whom Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all voted to save — leaving Shirley Ballas’s casting vote unused and Storey as the third celebrity to leave the 2026 series.

Eleven couples dance on into Week 5 on Saturday 24 October — so set your reminder for 6.30pm on BBC One, follow our week-by-week coverage, and check back here on Sunday night to find out who left strictly next.