AJ Odudu tops the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard

AJ Odudu burst into tears as she topped the 'Strictly Come Dancing' leaderboard.

The 33-year-old TV star and her professional partner Kai Widdrington wowed the judges on the BBC show with their Charleston.

The duo performed their table-topping routine to the sound of 'Don't Bring Lulu' by Dorothy Provine, and scored an impressive 39 out of 40 points.

Motsi Mabuse said: "Oh my goodness, I feel so proud of you! It was authentic, the acting was great, you came in at a high level but you have sat on that high level and gone even further!"

And Shirley Ballas added: "I don't have a paddle big enough for you - that was amazing!"

AJ broke down in tears after her routine, admitting she's endured a tough few days as she learned the dance.

She said: "This week has been so hard. When you fall a lot it's so hard, you lose confidence in yourself, but Kai manages to pull the confidence out of me and I'm so happy."

Elsewhere, Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden also impressed the judges, scoring 38 out of 40 points with their Paso Doble.

After their performance, Craig Revel Horwood told them: "That was amazing, I have never seen such a good Paso Doble from a male at this stage."

Tom also admitted to relishing this week's routine.

He said: "I think I really like this dance, its been so much fun, I loved it, the choreography was amazing."

Meanwhile, the judges also praised the performance of John Whaite and his professional dance partner Johannes Radebe.

The duo - who scored 35 out of 40 - performed a Rumba to the sound of Sting's 'Shape Of My Heart'.

Craig subsequently said: "I will teach my fiance this for my wedding dance. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous, you could have a straighter leg but I totally loved it - it was brilliant."