Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas delivers intriguing prediction as Delta Goodrem secures glittering score

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Delta Goodrem is a potential finalist, according to head judge Shirley Ballas, who issued glowing feedback on tonight's show.

The Australian singer-songwriter and her professional partner Kai Widdrington danced a Salsa to Always There / Ain't Nobody by Jocelyn Brown / Chaka Khan.

The energetic performance, for which Goodrem donned a dazzling outfit of silver sequins, proved to be one of the finest the judges had seen so far this year.

Each of the four experts had warm words for the duo, but it was Ballas who implied that she wouldn't be surprised to see Goodrem lift the Glitterball trophy.

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"For me, that was absolutely great," she began. "I loved your ponytail, when you swished it around it was quite remarkable!

"You trust yourself, you trust your partner, your awareness skills are exceptional. Keep it up! I think you're going to go all the way."

Previously, judge Motsi Mabuse commented: "She brought the D-I-S-C-O. You have been giving from week one... for me, this was the highlight. Well done!"

Meanwhile, Anton Du Beke praised Goodrem for "setting a very, very high bar" for the other contestants to strive for, while Craig Revel Horwood gave one of his three-syllable verdicts: "Ah-may-zing".

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As if their performance wasn't exhausting enough, Goodrem proceeded to share another brief dance with Johannes Radebe on the balcony as they prepared to hear their scores.

In total, the couple celebrated a superb 33/40, including the first '9' of the series – awarded by Mabuse – to the utter delight of Goodrem and Widdrington.

At the time of writing, they hold the top spot on the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 leaderboard for week 3, fighting off competition from Cach Mercer (2nd) and Jaime Winstone (3rd).

Strictly Come Dancing continues tomorrow, Sunday 11 October, on BBC One and iPlayer.

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Authors

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.