Strictly’s Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu perform surprise duet

What did you miss?

Strictly Come Dancing couple Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu showed off their singing skills on Sunday’s results show, as Paul Merson and Karen Hauer fell short in the dance-off and went home.

It was Week 5 of the ballroom competition and after being confirmed safe for next week’s Halloween extravaganza, X Factor winner Shayne and his professional partner were asked to give fans a taste of what they’d been practising behind the scenes.

Cue a surprisingly sweet duet covering Oleta Adams track ‘Get Here’.

What, how and why?

“Shayne, what a birthday present. You were in the dance-off last week. You and Nancy look so happy, how relieved are you to be up here?” asked co-host Claudia Winkleman.

The 40-year-old, who released four studio albums before turning his attention to acting in Coronation Street and The Good Ship Murder, admitted the pair were “relieved” not to be in bottom two this time around.

Diverting the conversation, Claudia then said: “Nancy, you two have been singing together. Could we have a bit please?”

Having composed themselves for their big impromptu moment, Shayne and Nancy proceeded to sing the opening section of ‘Get Here’, which goes: “You can reach me by railway, you can reach me by trailway, you can reach me on an airplane, you can reach me with your mind.”

“That is so good!” reacted Claudia, as surrounding Strictly stars Montell Douglas, Pete Wicks and Wynne Evans rapturously applauded.

Read more: Strictly Come Dancing

How did Paul and Karen react to being eliminated?

Even though their Samba went down well with judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke, Paul and Karen were ultimately eliminated in favour of JB Gill and Amy Dowden.

“It’s been really good,” said sports pundit Paul in the aftermath. “For anybody I talk to, I would say you’ve got to go on this show. It’s amazing – everybody. It’s been amazing, honestly, amazing. I loved every minute of it, I’ve had a great teacher. She’s been amazing, absolutely amazing and I couldn’t wish for a better coach.

“I’ve loved every minute of it. I can dance now – I’ve won because I can dance, I couldn’t dance before and I can half dance now. It’s a bonus, absolute bonus.”

As for Karen’s response, she revealed she’s “never giggled as much” and thanked her celebrity partner for showing everyone that learning to dance is possible “with a little bit of work”.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday, 26 October on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.