Fleur East and Vito Coppola have topped the 'Strictly Come Dancing' leaderboard.

Fleur East and Vito Coppola have topped the Strictly leaderboard

Fleur East and Vito Coppola have topped the Strictly leaderboard

The 35-year-old pop star is currently taking part in the BBC ballroom competition with professional Vito, 30, and the pair reached the top of the scoreboard on Saturday (12.11.22) night with a total of 39 points following their Samba routine set to Arrow hit 'Hot Hot Hot' .

After the performance, Fleur said: "I really did work hard. We take the feedback every week, we write it down, we go to rehearsals and we work on every part. It means so much to get feedback from all of those amazing judges. It has all paid off. Vito is amazing. He said my arms had to be connected [to his] like a snake and I had to be like a crab when I was going to the side. He loves animals!"

Judge Craig Revel Horwood is confident the dance will be enough to get them to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom next week.

He remarked: "If that dance doesn't get you to Blackpool, darling, I don't know what will!"

Craig's fellow judge Motsi Mabuse explained through tears that she was "so proud" of the former 'X Factor' star while head judge Shirley Ballas labelled the Samba as one of the "best" she has ever seen.

Motsi said: "I am so proud of you right now, I am so so proud of you. You did your work, you did everything and you put everything on that dance floor and that Samba deserves absolutely everything."

Shirley said: "Well, Fleur, you have taken constructive weeks from me over the beginning but you have mastered your craft. You have shown what powerful dancing with beautiful control is all about. Vito, you mixed open choreography with closed choreography. It was absolutely by far one of the best sambas I've ever seen in my life."

In joint second with a total of 38 points each were CBeebies star Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał - who danced to Master KG hit 'Jerusalema' - alongside 'Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps' star Will Mellor, who danced the Waltz to classic soul song 'Three Times a Lady' with Nancy Xu.

At the other end of the leaderboard were former 'Coronation Street' actress Kym Marsh - who scored 34 for her American Smooth routine with Graziano Di Prima set to Snow Patrol song 'Chasing Cars' - and football legend Tony Adams, who crashed into last place with a score of 24 for his efforts dancing the Jive to 'Land of a Thousand Dances' with Katya Jones.

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