Halloween week on Strictly is known for it’s spooky Salsas, fiendish Foxtrots, terrifying Tangos and chilling Charlestons; here we have a bag of Halloween tricks for you with six partnerships whose dance in the spooky special saw them receiving their lowest score on the show.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read Part 1 of this post in which we look at the more tantalising Halloween dances that saw couples earning their highest score.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Pamela & James

• Series 8, Week 5 (2010)
• Jive (27 points)
• Dancing to ‘Devil Gate Drive’ by Suzi Quatro

Their only performance with a sub-30 score, this devil-themed Jive by PamJam was a bit messy with Pamela herself describing how she felt she was “all grins and flailing arms, and completely uncontrollable from the waist down“.

An early billing (they opened the show) and finishing 8th out of 11 on the leaderboard didn’t cause them any problems and they lived to dance another day, continuing all the way to the Final. Here they finished in third place after dancing their Ghost-inspired perfect-scoring Viennese Waltz (the only 40-scoring dance in the Final that year).

Carol & Pasha

• Series 13, Week 6 (2015)
• Rumba (13 points)
• Dancing to ‘I Think I Love You’ by The Partridge Family

This Frankenstein-themed routine holds the record for joint lowest scoring Rumba on the show, tied with previous contestant Fiona Phillips (with Brendan), receiving just 13 points (Pasha’s lowest ever score). Escaping the dreaded dance-off despite a bottom place on the leaderboard was a short-lived reprieve as Carol & Pasha were eliminated the next week after an American Smooth scoring 17 points.

Does anyone else think Pasha is the ‘greenest’ Pro in Strictly history? There is definitely more than one occasion where he danced with full green face paint…

Kirsty & Brendan

• Series 13, Week 6 (2015)
• Charleston (17 points)
• Dancing to ‘Bad Romance’ by Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox

Even Halloween tricks like Brendan flying around on a wire and synchronised cartwheels could not save this vampiric, mistake-strewn Charleston which ended up in the bottom 2 (despite scoring 4 points more than Carol & Pasha’s routine).

Bruno’s verdict was that they “made mincemeat out of that, what a mess!” and – despite improving their performance in the dance-off – the other judges seemed to agree resulting in Kirsty & Brendan’s elimination via a unanimous vote in favour of opponents Jamelia & Tristan.

Danny & Oti

• Series 14, Week 6 (2016)
• Foxtrot (30 points)
• Dancing to ‘Take Me To Church’ by Hozier

Danny & Oti are a shock entry here and their lowest score of 30 is the highest low score here. This routine featured one of the strangest dance props in Strictly history with the partners dancing throughout attached together by a red elastic ‘appendage’ which divided the judges. Craig loved it, but Len expressed dismay: “I was bewildered by the elastic appendage, I just didn’t get that at all“.

It seemed the prop was an unwelcome distraction; Danny stepped on Oti’s feet more than once, causing Bruno to comment “there was drama in the footwork!”. This performance was an anomaly in their Strictly journey – they never dropped so low on the leaderboard again and in fact topped it on 6 occasions, scored four 40s in total and ended up runners-up to Ore & Joanne in the Final.

Susan & Kevin

• Series 15, Week 6 (2017)
• Foxtrot (18 points)
• Dancing to ‘Killer Queen’ by Queen

The Game of Thrones concept saw Susan – as Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons – arriving on a dragon to dance with Kevin’s Jon Snow but the ensuing routine lacked any dragon warrior Queen drama and failed to impress the judges. Kevin, responding to Shirley’s criticism that the dance lacked ‘grace’, commented “for the Halloween Game of Thrones Foxtrot, grace wasn’t really what we were going for.”

This partnership had something special though. They smile throughout and Susan can’t help laughing out loud at the end; she has since described dancing with Kevin as genuinely the happiest time of her life, and it shows. They survived until Week 10, losing out in a dance-off to Alexandra & Gorka.

(Note: In Week 5 Susan & Kevin scored 16 for their Cha Cha Cha but this was from 3 judges so is not their lowest scoring dance overall when adjusted).

Simon & Karen

• Series 15, Week 6 (2017)
• American Smooth (16 points)
• Dancing to ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones

This Viennese Waltz style American Smooth saw Simon & Karen dancing around a cobweb-strewn gothic horror feast table then proceeding to horrify some viewers by chomping on some of its chicken during the judges’ feedback. Bruno described it as not an American Smooth but an “American horror story” and its placement at the bottom of the leaderboard meant the dance-off that ensued had seemed inevitable. Unsurprisingly perhaps at the third time of asking, Simon & Karen could not escape elimination as they had managed on two previous occasions, and lost out unanimously to Mollie & AJ.

(Note: In Week 5 Simon & Karen also scored 16 for their Charleston but as this was from 3 judges it has not been included here).

Honourable mentions

The following partnerships all received their joint lowest score of the series on Halloween week:

• Series 9: Audley Harrison & Natalie (Jive, 20 points)
• Series 10: Sid Owen & Ola (Cha Cha Cha, 17 points)
• Series 11: Sophie Ellis-Bextor & Brendan (Jive, 28 points)
• Series 13: Peter Andre & Janette (Foxtrot, 28 points)
• Series 15: Davood Ghadami & Nadiya (Rumba, 25 points)
• Series 15: Jonnie Peacock & Oti (Cha Cha Cha, 20 points)
• Series 16: Charles Venn & Karen (Jive, 25 points)
• Series 16: Dr Ranj & Janette (Jive, 20 points)
• Series 16: Kate Silverton & Aljaž (Rumba, 20 points)