Strictly Come Dancing star Sam Quek was visibly moved on Saturday’s episode following less than favourable comments from the judges.
In the recent show, 36-year-old Sam and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin took to the floor with a quickstep routine set to Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten. Despite their efforts, the performance didn’t quite hit the mark, leading to some pointed advice from the panel, with Shirley Ballas, the head judge, comforting Sam by affirming she’s among the strongest women in the competition.
Post-critique, an emotional Sam confessed: “I’m genuinely gutted, I’m getting a bit upset as I was confident coming into this, it’s like sport isn’t it? You get knocked down, you get back up!”
While chatting with host Claudia Winkleman, Sam expressed her disappointment: “I’m just so disappointed because that could have been our moment. We felt it coming into it, I was confident. Something happened, which people don’t need to know about because I don’t want to make excuses, it’s not what it’s about, it’s just about delivering in the moment and unfortunately… I kinda let the side down but Nikita has always got my back, he’s always got my back!”
Nikita immediately countered Sam’s self-criticism over “letting the side down” insisting: “No, no, no! ” and offered consolation to his distressed celebrity partner, who commended him for his unwavering support. Sam also mentioned: “I’m just so guilty of being a perfectionist sometimes and that can be a detriment to me!” reports the Mirror.
DIY SOS star Nick Knowles was the third celebrity to exit Strictly Come Dancing following a tense dance-off against ex-Corrie star Shayne Ward last weekend.
The 62-year-old TV presenter and his pro partner Luba Mushtuk scored 21 out of a possible 40 points from the judges for their Charleston to ‘Rain On The Roof’ from Paddington 2, landing them near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Reflecting on his stint in the competition with host Tess Daly, Nick expressed: “I’ve really, really been surprised by how much I’ve loved doing it and by two things that happen.”
He continued, highlighting the emotional investment in the show: “One is how much you care each week, and the other is how much you don’t want to let down your partner. The only reason I could do this is simply because of Luba’s changes, she’s been amazing. There are some amazing dancers up there, and I will love watching the rest of the series.”
An emotional Luba responded, praising Nick’s determination: “I’ve never met someone as determined as you, and I remember you saying that if you do your best, you’ll be very happy. I think you did more than your best. Thank you.”
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer