EastEnders star Jake Wood made a shock semi-final exit from Strictly tonight.

The electric-hipped actor, a former favourite to win the series, paid the price for two nervous performances on Saturday, losing a tight dance-off against Towie's Mark Wright.

The judges were tied between the two pairings, leaving head judge Len Goodman to cast his deciding vote and eliminate Wood and partner Janette Manrara from the competition.

Wood, who plays love rat Max Branning in the BBC soap, said: "It's a huge disappointment to go out in the semi-finals but for a 42-year-old dad of two, who's never danced before, Janette has worked wonders. It's been a real privilege to watch her work and she's so passionate about what she does that it's infectious.

"I'd like to thank all the people at home who voted - it's just meant the world. And I'd like to thank my wife Alison and my two children Amber and Buster as well. Without their support I couldn't have done this."

Wood's lacklustre cha-cha-cha and Viennese waltz in Saturday's double-dance night saw him move from a pre-show favourite to the bottom of the leaderboard.

He opted to go with his cha-cha-cha to Boogie Shoes by KC And The Sunshine Band in tonight's dance-off, while Wright and pro partner Karen Hauer went with their rumba to Eva Cassidy's version of Fields Of Gold.

After Craig Revel Horwood backed the Towie dancer, Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli opted to keep Wood in the show. This left Goodman to use his casting vote and agree with Revel Horwood to send Walford's finest packing.

Goodman said: "This is very difficult. The cha-cha-cha had little cha-cha-cha content and the rumba had little rumba content so in that respect it's a very level playing field.

"One was totally performance driven, the other was more about artistry and this is for me the toughest of all but I'm going to save Mark and Karen."

Caroline Flack is the favourite to win next week's final, after her steamy salsa landed the first perfect 40 score of the series.

A maximum 10 from each judge for the second of her two dances with Pasha Kovalev saw the 34-year-old television presenter top the leaderboard as the audience - and social media - went wild.

The four finalist couples face a gruelling week, as they will have to perform up to three dances in the final, which will be split across two BBC One shows on Saturday night.

The first show will see them perform two dances, their favourite from the series and another chosen by the judges.

One couple will be eliminated at the start of the live second show, with the three remaining couples then performing another dance before the winner is revealed.

Take That, who this week appeared in the X Factor final last night, will also perform a medley of their hits during the Strictly final.

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