The Strictly Come Dancing ballroom transformed into a crypt of crimson capes and chilling choreography on November 1, 2025, as the professional dancers unleashed their inner undead for the show’s annual Halloween extravaganza. Delayed by a week to align with production schedules—much to the bemusement of purists who noted the calendar’s October oversight—the sixth week of series 23 delivered a feast of frights, from fog-shrouded group numbers to individual routines laced with gothic flair. Leading the charge, the pros donned vampire regalia for their electrifying opening routine, a Monsters’ Ball mash-up that evoked Tim Burton’s fever dreams with swirling mist, LED-lit fangs, and a soundtrack blending “Thriller” remixes with eerie strings. “It was like watching Dracula waltz into Elstree,” judge Anton Du Beke quipped, awarding the ensemble a rare standing ovation before the celebrities even took the floor. Yet the night’s spectral star? A crossover from BBC’s reality realm: Cat Burns, the soulful songstress and self-confessed Traitor from “Celebrity Traitors,” who slinked onto the results show stage the following evening in a hooded black cloak, performing her hit “Life is Like the Truman Show” with an ethereal backup dance that blurred the lines between betrayal and ballroom bliss.

The pros’ vampire metamorphosis set a tone of theatrical terror from the outset. Clad in velvet ensembles—high-collared capes billowing like bat wings, faces powdered pale with crimson accents—dancers like Giovanni Pernice and Lauren Oakley led a synchronized swarm across the floor, their quick pivots and dramatic lifts mimicking a coven in mid-hunt. Newcomer Michelle Tsiakkas, one of five pros without celebrity partners this season, stole early glances with a solo spin that dissolved into wisps of dry ice, her gown unfurling to reveal hidden LED veins pulsing in time with the beat. “We’ve waited all year for this,” Pernice told BBC cameras backstage, fangs glinting under the lights. “Halloween lets us play monsters without apology—vampires today, zombies tomorrow.” The routine, choreographed by creative director Jason Gilkison, drew inspiration from classic horror tropes while nodding to modern twists like “What We Do in the Shadows,” complete with comedic cape-snags that elicited chuckles from host Tess Daly.

As the mist cleared, the celebrity-pro pairings amplified the undead theme with bespoke horrors. Emmerdale heartthrob Lewis Cope and partner Katya Jones, fresh off a Johnny Cash-fueled Quickstep high from week five, conjured Dr. Frankenstein and his hulking creation in a Couples’ Choice that blended tango intensity with electric jolts—literally, via prop lightning rods that sparked on cue. Cope’s transformation from bespectacled inventor to electrified beast earned the series’ first perfect 40, with judge Shirley Ballas declaring it “a bolt from the blue.” Cope, 32, beamed post-dance: “Katya pushed me to embrace the mad scientist vibe—it’s my favorite yet.” Not to be outdone, Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston channeled Jessica Rabbit crossed with infernal seduction alongside Johannes Radebe, her devilish salsa to “Horny” by Mousse T. featuring Hot ‘N’ Juicy closing the show in a blaze of red sequins and forked-tail flourishes. Radebe, briefly shrouded in a black Traitors cloak as a teaser, unveiled sparkling horns that rivaled Kingston’s hourglass silhouette, their routine a sultry spell of hip isolations and aerial dips that left Craig Revel Horwood purring, “Dahling, you’ve raised the bar to hellish heights.”

The Halloween hex extended to more macabre motifs. Former Apprentice contender Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden—herself a beacon of resilience amid health hurdles—embodied a zombie apocalypse in a street commercial laced with undead lurches and resilient rises, a meta nod to Dowden’s own comeback narrative. “Amy’s the heartbeat in this horror show,” Skinner shared, their performance earning 32 points for its gritty groove. Meanwhile, Olympic swimmer Tom Daley and Nancy Xu tackled a ghostly waltz as spectral lovers, Xu’s flowing white gown trailing like ectoplasm while Daley’s dives-turned-lifts evoked underwater apparitions. Judges praised the pair’s emotional depth, with Motsi Mabuse noting, “You danced through the veil—truly haunting.” Bill Bailey, the comedian-turned-contestant with Dianne Buswell, brought levity as a bewitched magician, his illusions unraveling into a cha-cha chaos that had the audience in stitches.

Cat Burns’ guest spot on Sunday’s results show injected a dose of reality-TV intrigue, bridging Strictly’s sparkle with “Celebrity Traitors’” cloak-and-dagger drama. The 25-year-old Londoner, who joined the BBC’s celebrity spin-off of the hit betrayal game as an early Traitor, arrived veiled in midnight garb, her performance a brooding ballad that morphed into a group dance with pros in skeletal makeup. “Singing for these icons felt like unmasking my own impostor syndrome,” Burns reflected to The Guardian, her set drawing cheers for lyrics that slyly skewered fame’s facades. The crossover wasn’t coincidental; with “Celebrity Traitors” wrapping its first season amid ratings gold—peaking at 8 million viewers—producers eyed synergies, teasing future mash-ups. Burns, known for soul-stirring anthems like “People Person,” used the platform to plug her sophomore album, her ethereal vocals weaving through a pro routine that echoed the Traitors’ hooded hunts.

Yet amid the treats lurked tricks: Balvinder Sopal and Ellie Leach, alongside another unnamed pair, faced the dance-off’s grim reaper, their elimination a poignant punctuation to the spooktacular. Sopal’s tearful farewell—”This ballroom’s magic will haunt me forever”—drew applause, while Leach vowed a “zombie rise” in future endeavors. The results show capped with a pros’ encore, zombies shambling into vampires in a seamless shape-shift that blurred boundaries between living and undead.

Series 23’s Halloween chapter underscores Strictly’s enduring alchemy: transforming terror into triumph, one twirl at a time. With 10 couples remaining— frontrunners Cope and Jones eyeing the glitterball on December 20—themes like Blackpool Week loom large. For the pros, shedding capes signals a return to routine, but the vampire vogue lingers in viral clips, amassing millions on TikTok. Burns’ Traitor twist? A reminder that in entertainment’s grand game, alliances form in fog, and betrayals bloom under ballroom lights. As Elstree’s echoes fade, the real enchantment endures: Strictly’s power to resurrect spirits, one fang-tastic frame at a time.