Who left Strictly Come Dancing? Week 11 quarter final results - after Dan Walker and AJ Odudu dance off

Strictly Come Dancing is nearing the end of its 2021 series, but the dancers and contestants don’t seem to be slowing down as this past weekend made for epic viewing.

The competition is heating up as the quarter finalists battled it out for a place in the finals, but only one can go home with the glitterball trophy.

On Saturday 4 December, Rose Ayling-Ellis leapt her way into a place in the semi finals (literally) while others suffered from less convincing performances.

So, who went out during the quarter finals and who did the judges prefer? This is what you need to know.

Who left Strictly 2021 in the quarter finals?

The quarter finals provided some stunning skill, and some less satisfactory performances.

Former GBBO winner John Waite dropped Johannes Radebe “like a sack of potatoes” at the very end of their routine, while Rose Ayling-Ellis sailed through into the semis with a beautifully choreographed dance with her partner, Giovanni Pernice.

On Sunday night, the bottom two were revealed as BBC Breakfast’s Dan Walker and TV presenter AJ Odudu.

The pair took to the stage in a bid to save their space in the competition, Dan danced a Tango with his partner Nadiya Bychkova.

AJ then had a second go at the salsa with professional dancer Kai Widdrington.

In the end, the judges chose to save AJ and Dan was sent home, he then said he agreed with the decision and would also have saved AJ.

Following the decision, Dan told hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman: “The last 11 weeks have been absolutely amazing, I’ve genuinely loved every second of it.

“When I go back to the first day when I was asked to dance in front of some glitter balls, at that point, if there had been a fire exit, I’d have just walked away. But this amazing woman grabbed me by the hand, and brought me out onto this dance floor.”

He went on to describe his time on the show as an “incredible experience,” adding: “I’m not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance, and that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience…. There are some people who walk into your life and turn some lights on, and that’s what she has done to me.”

He concluded his time on the show by addressing his professional partner, “You’re an amazing person, and if you’ll have me, you’ll have a friend for life Nadiya Bychkova.”

Who is in the Strictly 2021 semi finals?

That means next week’s (11 December) show will see AJ compete alongside EastEnders Rose Ayling-Ellis, Bake Off’s John Waite and CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson.

Ayling-Ellis has been the bookies’ favourite to win the show for a few weeks now, though nothing is certain and each will be turning up the technical difficulty as they attempt to show off their dancing prowess.

When is Strictly Come Dancing on TV?

Strictly returns for the semi-finals on BBC One from 7.05pm, the results show then airs on Sunday 12 December at 7.20pm.

Both evening’s shows will then be available to watch on BBC iPlayer, shortly after broadcast.

If you can’t wait until Saturday for your fix of the BBC One show, Dan and Nadiya will join Rylan and Janette Manrara on Strictly It Takes Two on Monday 6th December at 6.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.