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Strictly Come Dancing Halloween week turns eerie as Cat Burns joins pros for wild new performance

Strictly Come Dancing Halloween week brings ghouls, glam and a Celebrity Traitor surprise.

Strictly Come Dancing

The Strictly cast bring full Halloween chaos to the BBC ballroom

Instagram Screengrab/bbcstrictly
Pooja Pillai
By Pooja PillaiNov 01, 2025
Pooja Pillai

Pooja Pillai is an entertainment journalist with Asian Media Group, where she covers cinema, pop culture, internet trends, and the politics of representation. Her work spans interviews, cultural features, and social commentary across digital platforms.

She began her reporting career as a news anchor, scripting and presenting stories for a regional newsroom. With a background in journalism and media studies, she has since built a body of work exploring how entertainment intersects with social and cultural shifts, particularly through a South Indian lens.

She brings both newsroom rigour and narrative curiosity to her work, and believes the best stories don’t just inform — they reveal what we didn’t know we needed to hear.

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Highlights:

  • The BBC’s ballroom turns spooky for Strictly’s Halloween week
  • Pros and celebs dance to songs by Lady Gaga, Charli XCX and Radiohead
  • Celebrity Traitors star Cat Burns performs during Sunday’s results show
  • Fans still guessing who’ll replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman next season
  • Judges ready for tricks, treats and terrifying scores

It’s Halloween week on Strictly Come Dancing, and the ballroom’s about to get a fright. The hit BBC show returns on Saturday night with its annual spooky special, featuring Halloween Week routines, eerie staging and a guest turn from Celebrity Traitors star Cat Burns. For fans, it’s one of the most anticipated themes of the series.

Strictly Come Dancing The Strictly cast bring full Halloween chaos to the BBC ballroom Instagram Screengrab/bbcstrictly


Why Halloween week is such a Strictly favourite

Every year, Halloween week feels like a shift. The pressure climbs. Costumes get madder. You can almost see the makeup budget doubling. Choreographer Elizabeth Honan said she loved the “daft but cool” energy of Halloween numbers, it’s when Strictly stops pretending to be serious. This time, ten couples are left. They’re dancing to Creep by Radiohead, Abracadabra by Lady Gaga, and Apple by Charli XCX. By Sunday, one couple will leave. That’s how it goes.


Who’s dancing what this week

  • Alex and Johannes – Salsa to Horny by Mousse T feat. Hot 'n' Juicy
  • Amber and Nikita – Viennese Waltz to I See Red by Everybody Loves an Outlaw
  • Balvinder and Julian – Samba to Stay by Shakespears Sister
  • Ellie and Vito – Tango to Abracadabra by Lady Gaga
  • George and Alexis – Cha Cha Cha to Apple by Charli XCX
  • Harry and Karen – American Smooth to Mystical Magical by Benson Boone
  • Karen and Carlos – Argentine Tango to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
  • La Voix and Aljaž – Paso Doble to Beethoven’s 5th
  • Lewis and Katya – Couple’s Choice to Creep by Radiohead
  • Vicky and Kai – American Smooth to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler

Cat Burns joins the Strictly Halloween party

Singer-songwriter Cat Burns, fresh from The Celebrity Traitors, will perform during Sunday night’s results show, teaming up with pros Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu for a dance number built around her hit Go.


What else to watch out for

Talk still swirls around who might replace hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman after they announced they’ll leave at the end of this series.

bbc onehalloween weekbritish tvstrictly come dancing

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