EastEnders actress Gillian Taylforth was voted off Strictly Come Dancing last night.

A viewers' vote left Taylforth and partner Anton du Beke in the bottom two alongside former model Jodie Kidd and dance partner Ian Waite.

The couples were asked to perform their foxtrots again and the show's judges decided Kidd deserved to stay.

Taylforth, who played cafe owner Kathy Beale on the BBC soap, was the first female celebrity to leave the series. "I have really enjoyed myself, it's been great. Anton's wonderful," she said.

Judge Bruno Tonioli told Taylforth: "Gillian, compared to his du Beke's previous partners, you're Ginger Rogers and that is something."

Taylforth and du Beke received 22 points out of a possible 40 from the judges for their foxtrot. The couples had to choose to dance either a foxtrot or a salsa.

Head judge Len Goodman said: "I was disappointed that two foxtrots were in the bottom two, it's such a difficult dance and doesn't have the wow factor of the salsa."

The show's male stars, who last night performed as a group to the Ricky Martin song She Bangs, will face the judges and the public vote next week. Actor Phil Daniels last week became the first male celebrity to leave the show.

Strictly Come Dancing's show on Saturday night was watched by slightly more people than The X Factor. Viewer numbers peaked at 9.4 million for the dance show, compared with 9.3 million for its rival.