Ed Balls lives to dance another day as Lesley Joseph voted off Strictly

Ed Balls has survived to dance another week as Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph became the fifth celebrity to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing.

The former shadow chancellor came close to dropping his professional partner Katya Jones during a lift as they performed an American Smooth on Saturday's show.

The duo were placed at the bottom of the judge's leaderboard but it was Joseph who was eliminated after all four judges voted to save model Daisy Lowe in the dance-off on Sunday night.

Joseph paid tribute to her professional partner Anton Du Beke after she received the news, saying: "Learning a new dance every week has just been lovely, working with him (Anton) has been an absolute joy and we've laughed a lot.

"And, yeah, it's been just a lovely, lovely, lovely journey and it's come to an end and that's absolutely fine. We've loved it."

When asked by Tess Daly what she would miss most, she said it would be Du Beke.

The professional also spoke of his affection for his partner, telling Joseph: "I would just like to say thank you very much, you enriched my whole Strictly experience this year.

"Dancing with you has been an absolute joy. You pushed me, I don't know about me pushing you, you pushed me to try and be more creative and make the numbers better and that's just down to you and you're just an absolute joy. And I love you dearly."

The duo had scored 24 points from the judges for their Tango to Whatever Lola Wants by Gotan Project, while Lowe and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec were in joint fourth place with 32 points for their Charleston to Happy Feet by Manhattan Rhythm Kings.

The judges all opted to save Lowe, with Craig Revel Horwood saying: "I love both couples for completely different reasons. But for me tonight, for precision, for an improved performance in this particular Dance Off, and finishing on time, the couple I would like to save is Daisy and Aljaz."

Darcey Bussell added: "Again this is very difficult, I wouldn't want these two couples here at all, and to choose between them is very difficult. But the couple I would like to save on their cleanness and the quality of their dance that stood out to me is Daisy and Aljaz."

Ore Oduba topped the judges' leaderboard during Saturday's live show for a second week running, after scoring 36 points for his classic waltz.

Mr Balls, who stepped onto the dance floor fresh from his first spray tan on Friday, received 18 points for his dance to (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.

Mr Balls appeared to poke fun at his trouble with the lift on Twitter.

He shared a video of himself and Jones in which they thanked fans for their support, and wrote: "Hope you enjoyed our lifts - the #GlitterBalls special did work every time until...!"

He added: "Big love to Lesley and thanks for all your votes!"

Laura Whitmore was unable to dance her jive during Saturday's show following an ankle injury so received a bye through to next week.

The results show featured a performance from LeAnn Rimes, who performed her new single How To Kiss A Boy.

The remaining 10 couples will take to the dancefloor next week for a Fright Night Halloween special when Strictly Come Dancing returns on October 29.