EastEnders actor Jake Wood has left Strictly Come Dancing 2014.
Tonight’s semi-final results saw Jake and his partner Janette Manrara end up in the bottom two with Mark Wright and his partner Karen Hauer. It was Jake’s first time in the dance-off and Mark’s third time this series.
After both couples performed again it was over to the judges to make their decisions. Craig Revel-Horwood chose to save Mark & Karen but Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli chose to save Jake & Janette.
The final decision went to head judge Len Goodman who chose to save Mark & Karen saying, “This is very difficult. The cha cha cha had little cha cha cha content and the rumba had little rumba content so in that respect it’s a very level playing field. One was totally performance driven, the other was more about artistry and this is for me the toughest of all but I’m going to save Mark and Karen.”
Talking to Tess about his departure Jake said, “It’s a huge disappointment to go out in the semi-finals but for a 42-year-old dad of two, who’s never danced before, Janette has worked wonders. It’s been a real privilege to watch her work and she’s so passionate about what she does that it’s infectious. I’d like to thank all the people at home who voted – it’s just meant the world. And I’d like to thank my wife Alison and my two children Amber and Buster as well. Without their support I couldn’t have done this.”
Janette added, “I don’t have enough words to say how proud I am of him. He’s come from nowhere and gotten all the way to the semi-final. He’s been an absolute pleasure to work with – so driven, so focussed. He’s just phenomenal. Thank-you, Jake, for making this such an amazing experience. He’s my friend for life now. For real.”
Paloma Faith stopped by the show tonight to perform and former winner Louis Smith returned to perform a group dance with the Strictly pros.
Strictly Come Dancing 2014’s grand final starts at 6.30pm Saturday on BBC One. See all of the action from tonight’s semi-final results show in our gallery below:
