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Strictly Come Dancing: Chris Appleton first to go after leak reports

Hours after the Daily Express reported that Strictly's first elimination had leaked online, the Sunday results show sent home hair stylist Chris Appleton and partner Amy Dowden after a dance-off.

5 outlets · 1L · 2C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Express
Image: Radio Times
Image: The Independent
Image: Evening Standard
Image: Daily Mail

1 / 5

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Hair stylist Chris Appleton, 43, and his professional partner Amy Dowden became the first couple eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2026 on the Sunday 4 October results show. Right · 1Earlier on Sunday, the Daily Express reported that the first elimination had been leaked on X and that fans were upset. It said it had chosen not to share the information, so the report did not say who had been named. Right · 1That early report did not say whether the leaked result was accurate. It named Melanie Walters, Chris Appleton and Lawrence Robb as the celebrities 'most in danger' on the leaderboard.

Left · 1Appleton and Dowden landed in the dance-off after Saturday's Movie Week show, the first with public voting. Viewers could vote for the first time this series, after a week without public voting. Left · 1They faced actor Jaime Winstone and her partner Carlos Gu. Both couples repeated their Cha Chas. Appleton and Dowden danced to a Baywatch song and Winstone and Gu danced to 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. Mixed · 2Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke voted to save Winstone and Gu, so Craig Revel Horwood did not need to use his casting vote. He said he would have voted the same way. The Express reported that all four judges voted to save the pair.

Right · 1On Saturday the judges gave Appleton and Dowden 17 points, while Winstone and Gu got 21 out of 40, according to the Express. Right · 1In his farewell Appleton said he had felt 'out of my comfort zone' and valued gaining a friend in Dowden. Dowden said she was 'heartbroken' but would gain a 'friend for life'. Left · 1The Independent noted that this is the second year running that Dowden has been in the first couple to leave. Her 2025 partner Thomas Skinner was voted off first.

Left · 1The results show also featured a Devil Wears Prada routine from the professionals and a Matilda The Musical performance with composer Tim Minchin. Fourteen couples remain for next Saturday's show on 10 October. Right · 1The two Express reports differ on Appleton's partner. The morning report paired him with Dianne Buswell and gave the Baywatch song as 'I’m Always Here'. The evening report and the Independent name Dowden and 'I'll Be Ready'.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
A straight results report on the Independent's side: who went, the judges' votes, the show's guest acts and context on Dowden's second first-week exit.
Emphasis
Judges' votes, Revel Horwood's remark, Appleton's career and Dowden's repeat early exit.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the pre-broadcast leak or fan reaction.
Charged language
“divisive”
For example
“Judges made a unanimous vote to save one couple in the first dance off of the series” — The Independent
“after her divisive celebrity partner Thomas Skinner was voted off the show in 2025” — The Independent

Centre2 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
The Express covered the story twice. It first reported a leak and fan disappointment, then ran an emotional farewell report.
Emphasis
Fan reaction on X, the leak, and the tearful farewell speeches.
Leaves out or plays down
Neither report puts the leak in context against the result. The morning report names a different partner from the one in the later report.
Charged language
“devastated”“axe”“tearful farewell speech”“dreaded dance-off”
For example
“Strictly Come Dancing's first elimination has been leaked, and fans aren't happy.” — Daily Express
“Fans have bid farewell to their first Strictly couple after dancing their hearts out in the dreaded dance-off.” — Daily Express