Dianne Buswell and Will Best completed their Strictly Come Dancing Week 7 quickstep despite an unexpected costume mishap. Pearls came loose from Buswell’s dress and scattered across the dancefloor during the Saturday 7 November performance. The partnership continued their routine to Maroon 5’s This Love and received 29 points from the judges. The incident was visible during the broadcast, and the hosts subsequently drew attention to the possible risk of the loose beads.
What happened on the dancefloor?
Best and Buswell opened the Saturday programme with an energetic quickstep. During the dance, beads detached from Buswell’s outfit and landed on the floor around them. They did not abandon the choreography, and there was no reported injury. Following the routine, host Josh Widdicombe highlighted the difficulty of dancing on a surface covered with small round objects. Professional dancer Johannes Radebe also pointed out the pearls, prompting a light-hearted exchange with Best. This was an unscripted interruption after the performance, not a cancellation of it.
Why the costume problem mattered
A ballroom routine depends on secure footing, particularly one with fast travelling steps. Loose decorations can be a concern even when dancers manage to avoid them. Entertainment Daily’s account on 8 November described viewers noticing the falling pearls and worrying about the dancers’ safety. Crucially, concern about what might have happened is different from confirmation that anyone fell or suffered an injury. Neither report identifies an actual accident, and the couple finished the number.
What the judges said
The marks were six from Craig Revel Horwood, eight from Motsi Mabuse, seven from Shirley Ballas and eight from Anton Du Beke. That made 29 out of 40. The panel’s comments focused primarily on Best’s dancing technique, movement and performance quality. Their score should not be interpreted as a penalty for the dress incident, because no such penalty has been confirmed. For the pair, a completed quickstep and ordinary judges’ feedback followed a moment that could have distracted their attention.
How viewers reacted
Accounts of the programme collected reactions from people watching at home, including surprise at the sight of pieces of the dress landing on the floor. Some viewers wondered whether the loose beads could cause someone to slip. Those comments show that the episode caught attention, but they do not establish wider public consensus or a formal complaint. The observable fact is the loss of costume decorations during the dance and the presenters’ acknowledgement of it afterwards.
The bigger Week 7 picture
Saturday’s performance came at a demanding stage of the competition. Best has been balancing his rehearsals with presenting Big Brother, which has recently finished its current series. He has spoken about hoping to devote more energy to training with Buswell now that one of his television commitments has ended. The pair’s Week 7 score provides a useful snapshot of the performance, but it cannot predict whether they will survive the public vote. Judges’ scores are only part of Strictly’s weekly elimination process.
What happens next?
The scheduled Sunday 8 November results programme will determine the next elimination. Until the outcome has been confirmed, it would be premature to describe Best and Buswell as either safe or out. Their next routine, if they progress, offers an opportunity to move on from the unexpected distraction and focus on their dancing. For now the story of their Week 7 appearance is straightforward: they carried on, completed their quickstep and received 29 points despite beads falling from Buswell’s costume.
Sources
This report is based on the contemporary accounts of the incident published by Entertainment Daily and TVGuide on 8 November 2026. Both describe the pearls coming loose, the host’s reaction and the couple’s score. Broadcast schedules and results can be checked on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Sources: Entertainment Daily; TVGuide.