Greg Rutherford and Ore Oduba share the top spot on Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard
Sportsman and presenter tied on 27 points after impressing the judges and the studio audience
OLYMPIAN Greg Rutherford and presenter Ore Oduba have topped the first Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard.
The gold medal winning long jumper danced an energetic jive with partner Natalie Lowe to the track Get Ready to close the show while Ore performed the first tango of the series to Geronimo with his female professional Joanne Clifton.
Len described Greg and Natalie as the "dynamic duo" and they were awarded 27 points by the panel.
He added: “It was as good as we’ve seen tonight, 100 per cent.
"You came out there, you gave it full on, a great attack. But you’re a really good dancer and I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
Bruno Tonioli added: “By the way it looks, Greg could go all the way.
"That’s what I mean by giving it welly. I loved it. I’m telling you, you have talent. I really loved watching you.”
Ore also scored 27 points but Len wasn't completely impressed by their unconventional routine, and felt they spent too long at the start of their performance moving around a park bench.
However Craig Revel Horwood was impressed, saying: "“I loved all the storytelling at the beginning, it set up the whole dance for me.”
Just behind the boys was Judge Rinder and Laura Whitmore, who both scored 25 points, while BBC newsreader Naga Munchetty and Birds of a Feather actress Lesley Joseph were at the bottom of the board with a respectable 23 points.
While the blonde beauty looked stunning in a Greek Goddess style white dress, the judges felt she needed to work on her balance and the straightening of her legs.
Len said: “Well, I must say, what a lovely start to the show. A lovely amount of cha cha content which I appreciate.
"You’ve got to work on straightening your legs but first on, first class!”
However, Craig was as picky as ever, telling the star she had danced the whole thing on "flexed knees.
He added: “I thought the whole thing was a little unstable.”
Meanwhile Judge Rinder stunned the judges and the audience with his "extraordinary" cha cha cha to Duffy's Mercy.
Starting out in his judge's robe, the star spun across the dancefloor before ripping open his shirt to show off his toned torso, becoming the first male contestant of the series to get his body out.
Clearly flustered at the end, Darcey Bussell said: "It was extraordinary. That was the wildest surprise I’ve ever had.
"The amount of detail you were able to add was outstanding.”
