Speaking after his elimination, Stephen shared that he actually had to pull out of some scheduled snooker games so he could take part in The Masked Singer, which led to him being slapped with a fine by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
He explained (via The Guardian): “I do have wildcards to play in some snooker events and I actually pulled out of a couple of events and got fined by the WPBSA for doing it.
“And I couldn’t tell them why because this recording was going on and I couldn’t obviously say why I pulled out … I just said: ‘Look, I can’t play the tournament’.”
“So, yeah, it was, very, very, very strange,” he added. “You’re dying to tell people what you’re doing but you can’t.”
After being unmasked in Sunday’s show, Stephen said he’d agreed to sign up for The Masked Singer as he was a big fan of the show, and picked his own costume as he wanted one that would limit his ability to dance.
The Masked Singer continues on Saturday nights at 7pm on ITV.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Masked Singer UK.
The Masked Singer aired its fourth elimination of the series on Saturday night, with a British sporting legend being unmasked.
Fawn, Jacket Potato, Pigeon, Rhino and Rubbish each performed as festival headliners during The Masked Singer Clue Fest week.
But it was Rubbish who got (ahem) dumped from the show after landing in the bottom two of the ITV reality singing contest alongside fellow contestant Jacket Potato.
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Rubbish on The Masked Singer
After the performances, the judges voted to save Jacket Potato and gave their final guesses of who Rubbish could be, with suggestions including The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, presenter Paddy McGuinness and Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins.
But none of the four judges guessed it was actually Scottish snooker player Stephen Hendry behind the mask.
Judge Jonathan Ross was the closest as he thought it could be snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan, but he fell slightly short of the mark.
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Following his reveal, Stephen said he loved the show and that it was his “guilty pleasure” to watch.
Asked why he decided to take on the challenge, he added: “To try something completely out of my comfort zone.
“I have had the opportunity to do other shows that would have put me in that same ‘uncomfortable’ position, but being completely hidden made it so much easier for me to let loose and get my head around the challenge.”
He also revealed that he chose the overflowing green recycling bin costume as the colours reminded him of a snooker table – and that how it restricted his movement was an added bonus as then he would not be made to dance.
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Based on the clues referencing sports, the judges offered up their guesses – with Jonathan thinking Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock could be behind the mask, and singer-songwriter Rita Ora opting for Paddy McGuinness.
Comedian Mo Gilligan thought it might be Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, while TV presenter Davina McCall thought it could be The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades due to the link to rubbish.
The Masked Singer continues on Saturdays at 7pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
After captivating audiences around the globe, becoming Netflix’s third most-watched series ever and even landing at the centre of rumours it may be leaving the platform altogether, the streaming giant finally has an update about the future of Wednesday.
On Friday evening, a short video posted on the show’s official social media accounts confirmed that the Addams Family spin-off would be back for a new season in 2023.
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In the clip, lead actor Jenna Ortega was heard saying, in character as Wednesday: “Over the past few weeks I’ve been hunted, haunted and mimicked millions of times across the internet. It’s been torture. Thank you.”
The teaser then confirmed: “More misery is coming. The global phenomenon will return for season two.”
Following its debut in November 2022, Wednesday quickly became one of the year’s most popular shows, racking up over one billion viewing hours in the space of three weeks.
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The show depicts Jenna Ortega as the Addams’ eldest child, who lands herself at a new boarding school when she’s expelled for sticking up for her brother.
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán portray Wednesday’s parents Morticia and Gomez Adams, while former Addams Family Values star Christina Ricci plays a teacher at the Nevermore Academy.
Jenna Ortega busts a move in one of Wednesday’s most iconic scenes
Earlier this week, speculation broke out that Wednesday could be leaving Netflix in the future after Amazon officially acquired MGM, who own the rights to the Addams Family.
Fortunately, fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as the show will be apparently be staying put.
There’s a reason why the original Gavin & Stacey Christmas episode is consistently hailed as one of the best festive TV specials ever made – it is a masterpiece, as we’ve previously written ourselves.
The episode, which sees the West and the Shipmans come together for their first Christmas as an extended family, originally pulled in more than 7 million viewers when it first aired on Christmas Eve back in 2008.
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Here we share the behind-the-scenes secrets even the biggest fans might not even know about…
1. The special was filmed in October 2008 over 12 days in and around Barry, leaving the team just two months to edit it until it was on TV.
2. It was conceived after writers and creators Ruth Jones and James Corden didn’t have time to do a whole new series, but could fit in making a special.
The episode was filmed just over two months before it aired
3. They had also been fascinated with the idea of bringing together the Shipmans and the Wests for Christmas, and the chance to explore different festive foibles.
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4. Many of the cast fell sick with flu during filming, according to a 2017 interview Ruth Jones (Nessa) gave to Radio Times, and there was an on-set doctor.
Filming of the 2008 Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special
5. The first scene that the cast and crew filmed was the one where Smithy visits Stacey at work to ask her to help him with his Christmas shopping.
6. The scene was shot at the Culverhouse Cross Marks & Spencer, which is located just outside Cardiff – despite the store being set in Essex.
7. James (Smithy) admitted he hadn’t learned his lines properly before starting the shoot, and also had fun wheeling Joanna Page (Stacey) around in shopping crates in between takes.
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Joanna Page and James Corden in between takes
8. Another location you might have spotted in the special is the Welcome Break at Cardiff Gate, where the Barry lot stop off en route to Essex.
9. The baby who played Neil was sick all over Melanie Walters (Gwen) while filming on location at the services.
10. James wasn’t driving Smithy’s car in the scene where he’s singing Do They Know It’s Christmas down the phone with Gavin – the crew used what’s called a low loader, which essentially tows the car.
Smithy’s car on the low-loader
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11. Mathew Horne (Gavin) was sat in the back of the low loader while James was filming his parts of the scene, and sang along down a microphone so that James could hear him in the car. He then filmed his turn as Gavin in the scene separately.
12. The child who visited Nessa’s grotto was played by Ruth’s real-life nephew, Zakk.
Ruth Jones with her real-life nephew
13. Mathew ripped his trousers while filming the scene where Gavin and Stacey come home on Christmas Eve.
14. The Christmas Eve fight scene struck fear into the director because it featured all 12 characters, and Ruth admitted she had to give him a warning after writing it.
15. The Christmas dinner the gang all tuck into was actually cooked on-location in Pam and Mick’s real-life kitchen, Ruth revealed to Radio Times in 2017.
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The Shipmans and the Wests spent their first Christmas together
16. The mammoth scene was filmed on the penultimate day of the 12-day shoot, with press and promotional pictures also being taken in the house in between takes.
17. James was also caught taking naps on the Shipmans’ living room sofa during his downtime, where Juila Davis (Dawn) drew on his face.
James Corden asleep on the sofa
18. The final scene to be filmed on the last day of the shoot was the unwrapping of the presents, with Dave’s proposal to Nessa being the final shot in the can.
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19. There was a feeling from James that the cast would “never make another Christmas special again” – but thankfully, that proved not to be the case, when in 2019, a follow-up finally arrived…
The Gavin & Stacey 2008 Christmas Special is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. You can also purchase behind-the-scenes documentary Gavin & Stacey: 12 Days Of Christmas on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.
“As makeup artists, and people who want to be creative and push boundaries and go to the next level, what other show on TV at the moment is there a chance to do that on?” Lisa Armstrong says of her role as Strictly Come Dancing’s makeup designer. “That’s why we feel so lucky.”
Lisa is now in her 14th year heading up the makeup department on the hit BBC ballroom show, and when HuffPost UK catches up with her, it’s clear she loves working on it as much now as when she first joined.
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Her glittering career in TV makeup artistry started after a chance meeting with Ozzy Osbourne during her days working on photo-shoots as a jobbing MUA, which eventually led to Lisa being recruited by his wife Sharon to be her personal makeup artist for the first series of The X Factor in 2004.
Having climbed the ranks of the ITV talent show during its early years, Lisa – who originally found fame as part of 90s girlgroup Deuce – was called into a secret meeting with BBC bosses about joining the show’s Saturday night rival and heading up its hair and makeup team.
“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” she says. “It was just incredible from a makeup artist’s point of view to be going from the biggest show on ITV to the biggest show on the BBC, and to be heading up the team and be in charge, it was literally, OMG!”
Having built her team of professional MUAs, the makeup department on Strictly has gone from strength to strength with their incredible looks, even being recognised by the industry when Lisa won both a Bafta Craft and Royal Television Society awards.
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Lisa Armstrong attends the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2019
Eamonn M. McCormack via Getty Images
As our behind-the-scenes look at Strictly continues in our Backstage At The Ballroom series, Lisa reveals the astonishing pace at which her team works, the inventive ways she brings the show’s famous themed weeks to life, and names her favourite looks of all time…
I wanted makeup and hair to push boundaries when I joined Strictly..
I wanted it to look and feel very much like modern day, bringing all those aspects of Latin and ballroom up to date, and making them relatable to the public.
I wanted us to be the leaders, not the followers, so I wanted people to watch our show and go, ‘OMG, did you see her hair? I want that hair for my wedding or my prom’. I wanted us to be up there and pushing boundaries.
The technique of doing makeup on a show like Strictly is completely different to other shows…
You have to take into consideration that these dancers will be pinging around the dance floor at 100mph, turning themselves upside down and inside out, sweating and being out of breath. Makeup smudging and hair falling out is just something I could not have. So attention to detail is an absolute must, and to be the best of the best.
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Lisa in the Strictly makeup room with Aljaz Skorjanec and Giovanni Pernice
Instagram/Aljaz Skorjanec
At the start of a series, it’s me, seven makeup artists and two assistants…
When [the cast gets] smaller, there are six, and it goes down as the series goes on. It’s the same for hair. We have Lisa Davey who is the designer of the hair now, who has seven artists and two assistants.
There’s quite a team of us, but we’re working with so many people, including all the dancers, and we now have 20 pros. With all the extra numbers it’s a very busy show, with lots of looks in one night.
Makeup can come on and off the dancers as many as four times on filming days…
For example, in Blackpool this year, we put that orange graphic eye makeup and blue liner on Nancy four times during the day. We had to dress-run her concept look with Will, then we had to take that off to do the celeb reveal in the opening number, then we had to put that back on to go into the live show for her and Will’s dance, then take that off again to go into the opening number of the results show, and then put it back on to do the rest of the results show – and that’s just one person!
Will Mellor and Nancy Xu performing at Blackpool
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It’s a lot of skill and a lot of technique to be able to do that whilst the pressure is mounting the minutes are ticking down, and the floor manager is saying, “Five minutes ’til live!”
A typical week on Strictly for me looks like…
On the Saturday evening, we get a confirmed concept document about midnight on how the next week’s show is going to look. It gives us a style of dance and staging, how the lighting is, if there are any props, the era it’s in and potentially what colours are on the screens or what colour the costume is.
Through the week, it’s a process where it builds and builds with every department pulling together to make decisions. On Friday, it’s confirmed with the execs the exact hair and makeup looks you’re going to do, so that’s then handed out to the team members who are actually executing them.
And then it’s fingers crossed for Saturday morning and that it runs like clockwork – and sometimes it doesn’t!
We don’t actually know what the makeup is going to look like on everyone’s face until each Saturday morning…
What I don’t think people really understand is how complicated, stressful and creative it is, because those looks are all there down on paper, but it’s completely different seeing it on paper to on someone’s face. The only chance we get to do that is on the show day.
We come in early in the morning and then the couples will be coming into hair and makeup when the schedule allows. We have them all pretty much tip-top perfect for the dress run, then we have two hours to fix any things that didn’t quite work.
It’s meticulously planned, but you can’t execute it until the day. All my ducks are in a row and ready to go, but where they waddle off to is anybody’s guess, because we are live!
We really have to think outside of the box for some looks, especially on theme weeks…
People don’t realise that we have to get really creative. They think it’s all professional makeup – and predominantly it is – but stuck around Tyler West’s face when he was Beetlejuice on Halloween Week was porridge oats, which were glued with eyelash glue and painted green to give him that grubbiness of the character.
It’s about thinking out of the box when we don’t have a million pound film budget or 100 hours to do something.
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Tyler West dressed as Beetlejuice in Halloween Week this year
Every makeup artist will bring their own kit to work, and then I have the main Strictly kit there with all the extra bits…
Everyone is different because everyone likes and uses different things and everyone uses different things in our main kits.
You go to different places for different things – so, at the moment, I am sourcing a Santa beard for one of the couples on the Christmas show, but I can’t go and get that from Boots, so I have to get that from a specialist makeup shop. There are quite a few of them around, like ScreenFace or PAM, the professional makeup artistry shop. We go to them and then we can get all the adhesives, glues and if you needed things like bald caps.
It’s like a mass shopping list – preplanning and going over and over it to make sure that we’ve got that wig or those devil horns, or if we’ve remembered the paint for that.
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After we film the results show straight after the live show, we have to bring everyone back into makeup and do a ‘de-rig’…
It’s taking off all the wigs, cutting out hair pieces, removing glue, taking eyelashes off, washing paint off faces if they’ve been characters, and then placing bits and bobs back in their boxes, clean down all the sides, pack all the make up away, clean the brushes, clear the room, and then go again the next week!
It’s gone midnight, sometimes 1am, by the time we get out. It’s a long day.
My favourite looks I’ve created on Strictly are…
I did think [Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton’s] Minions were genius – who knew that a metal coat hanger would come in so handy?
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Then I loved Halloween Week with Faye and Giovanni. That hair never stayed put until the live show – every time we did it, it dropped and collapsed. Her hair was quite short, so to have it scraped up and that big, thick plait stitched on there and then using in the choreography swinging it, we were like, ‘How is this going to stay up?!’
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One of the girls just pinned it, gaffer taped it, sewed it, and then we all watched it on the screen through an open hand, and thankfully it worked on the night. It does get a bit hairy sometimes!
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I also loved the creative journey I had with Sophie Ellis Bextor…
Her face is just insane and so beautiful, and she is so up for anything. I’d do big blue eye makeup and then stick orange crystals over the top, and she’d be like, ‘OK!’. It’s very on trend now, like when I did Ola Jordan for a spooky Alice In Wonderland group number and I couldn’t decide whether to do a pink or orange lip, so I did both – orange on the outer corner and then pink in the middle.
Then what happened a couple of months later on the pages of Vogue? The ombre lip! I’m claiming that!
Sophie Ellis Bextor with partner Brendan Cole on the show in 2013
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It feels overwhelming to have won a Bafta and RTS award for my work…
It’s amazing and incredible and really overwhelming. You think, ‘Wow, my work is being looked at and is being noticed and being recognised by the industry.’
I’m not blowing up own trumpet, but Strictly is one of the biggest and best and most-watched shows on telly, so I feel it does deserve [awards for the show]. But when it comes to personal ones, I find it very emotional.
My top tips for getting the Strictly look this party season are…
You need a good eye shadow base, some loose glitter you can pop all over the lid and then a fabulous big lash.
On the market at the moment, there are so many things that don’t have to be for professional use – those glitter pen sticks from Collection 2000 in Superdrug or Boots. Just whack on a glittery eye, whack on a lash and off you go – party!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday at 7.15pm on BBC One.
However, Friday night’s episode of I’m A Celebrity featured the last elimination of the series before the final, with Hancock once again garnering enough public support to avoid being sent packing.
Instead, comedian and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Seann Walsh became the seventh star to leave the jungle, with just four contestants now remaining in camp.
He entered as a mole but is leaving as a legend. Seann is the seventh Celeb to leave the Jungle after keeping everyone entertained with his non-stop laughs and spot-on impressions! 💛 #ImACelebpic.twitter.com/faZidmwUhI
While Seann told Ant and Dec he was backing Jill Scott to win, he also praised Hancock, with whom he entered the jungle on the same day, describing him as a “lovely guy”.
“He’s in there for a reason,” the comic added.
Sean also said of his time in camp: “We all listened to each other in there. I don’t know if that is common in the jungle – and everyone kind of got their story out and there was so much support.
“I feel like everyone in there, not just for me, but I think we all accepted one another for who we are today.”
Seann Walsh leaves the I’m A Celebrity jungle
James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock
Last week, news presenter Charlene White became the first celebrity to be eliminated, with A Place In The Sun’s Scarlette Douglas, Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver and pop singer Boy George leaving in the following days.
Hancock will be joined in the semi-final by footballer Jill Scott, Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner and rugby player Mike Tindall, one of whom will be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle at the end of the series.
I’m A Celebrity returns on Saturday night at 9.15pm on ITV1, with the final then airing on Sunday.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Matt Hancock had made it through to the I’m A Celebrity final, rather than the semi-final.
The former Dynasty star was one of the contestants during Strictly’s fifth series back in 2007, during which time she was partnered with professional dancer Vincent Simone.
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And while she and Vincent only lasted one week in the competition, it seems she doesn’t have the best memories of her time in the ballroom.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Stephanie recalled her time on Strictly as an “absolutely hateful” experience, but insisted she is still an avid viewer of the show despite it all.
“I’m a fan of Strictly and I think [Anton Du Beke] is doing a terribly good job [on the panel],” she explained. “But doing it was absolutely hateful.”
Stephanie in the Strictly ballroom with her dance partner Vincent Simone
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While the majority of the celebrities who come through Strictly have spoken favourably about their experience on the show, Stephanie is far from the only star who had a rather different take.
Saturday’s show opened with a spectacular extravaganza celebrating Strictly’s long awaited return to Blackpool after two years away due to the pandemic.
During Sunday’s dance-off, Tyler and his dance partner Dianne Buswell performed their Salsa, while Molly and her dance partner Carlos Gu performed their Jive again in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition.
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After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts, but it was down to head judge Shirley Ballas to cast the deciding vote after Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke failed to unanimously decide who should go home.
Mollie and Tyler found themselves in the dance-off during Blackpool Week.
Craig and Motsi both chose to save Molly and Carlos, but Anton believed Tyler and Dianne deserved to stay in the competition.
With two votes for Molly and Carlos and one vote for Tyler and Dianne, it meant that Shirley would have to make the final decision.
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Shirley said; “Well, I agree with my fellow judges, this is probably one of the most difficult dance off’s that we’ve ever had to choose.
“Both couples were outstanding, both improved their performances but I am going to go with what I believe in, and that is a quality of movement and precision in partnering, and I am going to go with Molly and Carlos.”
Tyler West and Dianne Buswell failed to impress after their Salsa in Blackpool.
Guy Levy via PA Media
When asked by Tess about his time on the show, Tyler said: “I’m more than a two step now! When you watch the show at home, you wonder what it must be like to dance on it, it’s everything and more, it’s changed my life.
“This girl here, has changed my life for sure. To think I was some shy kid who never used to talk to anyone, to dancing in front of millions, I can’t put it into words.”
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He continued: “It’s my mum’s favourite show, I bought her to Blackpool, my nan bless her was always watching over me on this journey. But more importantly this show has changed my life in the sense it’s given me confidence, a new found family, every dancer, everyone in hair and make-up, costume. The judges, it’s been amazing to dance in front of you every week, I genuinely mean that.
“But this girl here, I have been blessed with the best, she is what Strictly is about and she’s changed my life, I have no doubt she will be in in my life forever.”
Tyler said his Strictly experience had “changed my life”.
Dianne was then asked if she had any words for her partner. She said: “Endless words! You have been an absolute joy to work with, when I say that, you have come in every single session with the biggest smile on your face and it lights up this whole ballroom.
“You are such a talent, you really are and you should feel so proud, I am so proud of you, your family are so proud and your nan is so proud of you. Thank you so much for everything.”
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The remaining seven couples will take to the dance floor next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday 26 November at 7.15pm
Matt Hancock has admitted he is “starting to enjoy” the I’m A Celebrity Bushtucker trials as the politician completed his sixth consecutive challenge.
The public voted on Sunday night for the former health secretary, 44, to take part in another trial, which saw the MP for West Suffolk lying on his back in an underground pit as he attempted the Deserted Down Under.
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Before the trial, he said: “I’m growing in confidence. I quite like a challenge anyway. So, you know, I don’t think I should say this … I’m starting to enjoy them and look forward to it.”
Hancock struggled through the challenge, which saw him given 11 minutes to unlock 11 stars while faced with spiders and cockroaches, as well as his biggest fear, snakes.
At one point Hancock told the show’s presenters, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly: “I’m just trying to talk about them (the snakes) as if they’re completely normal.”
Later Hancock got a fright, shouting: “Something’s going up my leg. It’s inside my shorts.”
It comes after he faced his fear of snakes in his previous trial House of Horrors, where a snake attempted to strike him at eye level.
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Approximately four minutes into Deserted Down Under, Hancock said: “I can’t get this done.”
The politician became frustrated with himself during certain points of the challenge, and at one point the lights went out and he was left to complete the challenge in the dark.
At the end of the trial, it was confirmed that Hancock had won seven out of a possible 11 stars.
Reflecting on the experience and being in close proximity to snakes during the challenge, Hancock said: “I just managed to keep really calm. I had to be gentle with them, but they were fine.”
Adding: “My biggest fear [was snakes]. I kind of feel like I’ve faced that. I’ve conquered a fear.”
Hancock seemed disappointed with himself, commenting on the number of stars he managed to secure: “It’s not 11 is it? Fine for dinner, haven’t hit it out of the park.”
The BBC ballroom show had to cancel its latest elimination after the former footballer sustained an injury ahead of having to perform in the dance-off.
Host Tess Daly explained to viewers: “Due to an injury sustained on Saturday night, Tony is unable to take part in the dance-off and has decided to withdraw from the competition. This means there will be no dance-off tonight and Tyler and Dianne are through to Blackpool.”
Tony later said of his time on the show: “It’s been emotional guys, I cried for the first month. I came in here with one message, if you’ve got an issue with mental health then please don’t suffer in silence and reach out for help.
“Little did I know that I was going to learn a lot about myself in the process. I thought this ‘journey’ rubbish was nonsense, but my god the rollercoaster of emotion. I’ve got to be honest, it’s tough, physically it’s really tough out there, but dancing is really fantastic for you. Go out there and enjoy it and pick up new skills and explore. I suppose I had better mention this one [Katya] hadn’t I, she is an exceptional human being, she really is.”
Tony and Katya performed a Jive on Saturday’s live show
BBC/Guy Levy
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Katya was then asked if she had any words for her partner.
“Tony Adams, I will be forever grateful that I was partnered up with you, do you know what I loved? I loved us, I loved that we didn’t care what people thought, we did every single dance our way!” she said.
“You have come here with a message, you led by example, and put yourself out there, and showed everyone you can do anything. And everyone deserves love and to be loved! I love you.”
Head judge Shirley Ballas added: “On behalf of the judges, we’ve enjoyed watching every second, you are truly what this show is all about, and we can only wish you the very best as you move forward. Please carry on dancing, carry on entertaining people, because you are a star.”
The remaining eight couples will take to the dancefloor next when Strictly Come Dancing returns to the Blackpool on Saturday 19 November at 7.45pm, with the results show following on Sunday at 7:20pm on BBC One.
