Jaime Winstone is opening up about surviving the first Strictly Come Dancing dance-off of the new season.
Over the weekend, the actor and her professional partner Carlos Gu fell around the middle of the judges’ leaderboard for their first two routines of the series.
However, after failing to secure enough votes from the public, they wound up in the bottom two with celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton and his Strictly pro partner Amy Dowden.
Ultimately, the judges unanimously opted to save Jaime, but in her first interview since the results show aired, she admitted it had all been a pretty tough experience.
“It is a horrific feeling being up there,” she told companion show It Takes Two, later adding that she’s had a “really emotional” time of it.
She said: “It is at such a fast pace, and I am not used to being so vulnerable on camera. You do go back to that child in school going, ‘I don’t fit in’. And actually, some of your greatest things about you are what make you stand out.”
Jaime also noted that the dance-off performance had been a moment of “personal growth” for her, which she intends to carry forward in the rest of the contest.
“It is not how you fall, it’s how you get yourself up again,” she concluded.
Since their elimination, both Chris and Amy have been candid about their experiences on this year’s series.
“I’m still terrified of dancing. Just not when I’m with Amy,” Chris wrote on Instagram earlier this week. “My hands were shaking, my heart was racing, and I was sure I’d forget everything with everyone watching.
“Amy, you help me believe in myself when I couldn’t and get out there and do it anyway! That means more than you know.”
The Welsh dancer also admitted she was “gutted” to be the first pro eliminated for the second year in a row.
She also told Chris during Sunday night’s results show: “My heart is only breaking because I don’t get to dance with you on Monday. But, I get a friend for life, and that’s what’s going to heal my broken heart.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 8.15pm on BBC One.
