Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey has become the third celebrity to be eliminated from the current season of Strictly Come Dancing.
During Saturday night’s Icons Week-themed live show, the record-breaking athlete and her professional partner Julian Caillon landed at the bottom of the leaderboard after failing to impress the judges with their Tango to Shania Twain’s signature hit.
While former Love Island winner Dani Dyer was second from bottom, she managed to secure enough public support to save her from the dance-off, with House Of The Dragon actor Bethany Antonia taking her place.
Once both stars had danced again, the judges unanimously voted to save Bethany and her Strictly pro partner Nancy Xu, meaning Dame Sarah and Julian were sent home.
Speaking to presenter Emma Willis, the gold medallist enthused: “I’ve obviously had the most amazing teacher [in Julian] which has just been the biggest blessing.
“Getting to learn different dances is something that I’ve never ever done, and never even thought I could do. So yeah, I’m really proud to have been able to have a few weeks learning from this incredible chap. I’ve really enjoyed every minute.”
He then responded: “I’ve been saying since I met Sarah, once you get to know her, you really understand why she is the GOAT. She is so hard-working, she’s so dedicated, I’ve never seen such […] commitment and hard work to the process.
“She’s tough on herself because she expects the best. But that’s because she is the best. And I’ve been so impressed by your work ethic, I’ve had an absolute blast, and I’m so glad that you got to do that, because you are amazing. You can dance, and I need you to know that.”
“Thank you for dealing with my perfectionism,” Dame Sarah told Julian. “I wasn’t alway the best dancer or the best person in the training room – sometimes I was really hard on myself and I got in my head, as you said.
“But you always believed that I could do something, and every Saturday that I came here, I always did the very best dance of the week. And I got to do it twice tonight – and the second time was better!”
“And we’ve got more time for cycling now!” Julian then joked.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 6.30pm on BBC One.
This will mark pop singer and previous frontrunner Delta Goodrem’s return to the contest, after she was forced to miss the most recent live show due to an injury.
