COLNE actress Natalie Gumede finished joint top of the leader board on Saturday night’s Strictly after battling through the pain barrier.

Her sizzling Samba opened the show and won her a judge’s score of 35, the same as Abbey Clancy’s foxtrot.

The ex-Coronation Street actress is still undergoing treatment for her painful spinal injury, and her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev also revealed he had fractured his nose during training.

The couple showed no sign of injury in their fast-paced routine which was well received by all four judges.

Judge Darcey Bussell said: “Spain is your place, you have got to do more of that. Great performance.”

Natalie, who attended Park High School, Colne, did enough to impressive viewers and judges alike and survived last night’s nerve-wracking results show, making it through to another week of the competition.

Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden became the fourth star to be voted off.

after her performance in the dance-off against Casualty actor Patrick Robinson failed to inspire judges to save her.

Natalie is continuing with her treatment for her back injury and, writing on her Yahoo! blog, she said: “It's fantastic to feel back on track after what has been - understatement to follow - a rather challenging couple of weeks.

“No-one said that living your dreams was easy.”

ANNA'S ANALYSIS

Still fighting her back injury, Natalie shone again in a shimmering nude and pink dress – with the obligatory ‘tail’ or bustle, to emphasis the hip movement. Samba is a notorious dance in Strictly terms; billed as a party dance but easily criticised when it’s over the top. For me, Natalie and Artem’s was a perfect demonstration of steps but I wasn’t sure about the party vibe from them and Natalie definitely needed to tame some of the faces she was pulling, in favour of a smile of enjoyment. Despite this, her top spot alongside Abbey Clancy was once again very deserved.