Dame Sarah Storey, Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, has become the third celebrity voted off Strictly Come Dancing 2026, losing a Sunday-night dance-off to the actress Bethany Antonia.
The result was confirmed on the BBC One results show on 18 October, after both couples ended up in the bottom two. Storey and her professional partner Julian Caillon had scored just 21 points for a Tango to Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” the night before, which left them at the foot of the leaderboard.
In the dance-off the pair performed that Tango again, while Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu danced a Cha Cha to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”. Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Bethany and Nancy, and head judge Shirley Ballas said she would have done the same, as TV Guide reported.
Storey left the floor without a hint of regret. “I’m really proud I could have a few weeks learning from this incredible chap and I’ve really enjoyed every minute,” she said of Caillon.
She follows Melanie Walters and Chris Appleton out of the series. Storey and Caillon are due to look back on their run on It Takes Two on Monday evening, before the remaining couples return on Saturday 24 October.
Who is Dame Sarah Storey?
For most of the country, Storey is far better known for winning than for dancing. Dame Sarah Storey, 48, from Manchester, is Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time, with 19 gold medals among the 30 she has won across nine Games.
She first competed as a swimmer at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics as a teenager, then switched to cycling in 2008 and simply kept winning. In 2021 she passed Mike Kenny’s long-standing record to top the British medal table, and she was made a Dame in 2013 for services to para-cycling.
The rest of the weekend’s television and headlines are rounded up by the Portsmouth And team on our news desk.
