Chris Appleton was reduced to tears as he spoke out on his Strictly Come Dancing exit for the first time, after he and Amy Dowden became the first couple to leave the 2026 series over the weekend.
Despite only having a few weeks on the dance floor, their dances in the first two weeks of the competition failed to impress the judges – Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke – who then sent them home during the first results show of the series on Sunday (October 4) night.
Exit after dance-off
Celebrity hairstylist Chris and dance partner Amy's sad exit came after this week's judges' scores were added to those from last week's first live show, when there was no public vote, and were then combined with the results of Saturday night's (October 3) public vote to decide the two lowest-scoring couples who would face the dance-off.
They then left the show following a movie week dance-off against actress Jaime Winstone and her partner Carlos Gu, during which both couples performed their routines again, with Chris and Amy doing a cha cha to I'll Be Ready from Baywatch before Jaime and Carlos did the same dance but to Oh, Pretty Woman from Pretty Woman.
When it came to choosing who to save, judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all chose to save Jaime and Carlos – who won last season with former footballer Karen Carney. Craig Revel Horwood – who was the judge with the deciding vote this week – said that he would have also saved the same couple as the rest of the judges if he had needed to vote.
Emotional It Takes Two appearance
Following their exit, Chris and Amy appeared on Strictly's spin-off show, It Takes Two on Monday (October 5) and when shown a montage of Chris' short – but sweet – stint on the show, he ended up in tears.
Host Ellie Taylor commented: "I can see you're clearly really emotional about this; this has meant a lot to you..." before an emotional Chris responded, "Why did you have to show that? Oh my god, it's just been a phenomenal experience, and I think I'll take away from it, hopefully I said to my kids on Saturday before I left, 'Guys, no matter how'... I can't even talk."
Tributes and social media messages
Chris, who is known for being the hairstylist for the likes of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, had taken to social media ahead of appearing on It Takes Two as he fondly looked back at his time on the show, but more importantly, his time spent with Welsh dancer Amy.
Alongside a video montage featuring clips from their few weeks on the show together, he said: "I'm still terrified of dancing. Just not when I'm with Amy. 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. This is for the little boy who felt different and was afraid of getting things wrong and for anyone who's ever let that fear stop them from trying. You don't have to feel confident to give yourself a chance. Sometimes, you just have to do it shaking."
Responding to the emotional message, Amy said: "It was just me and you out there! Forever proud! This video with all the memories." Meanwhile, actress Jaime, who defeated Chris in the dance-off, added: "Wow love you so much! What a journey we have had together.. you are so special! Thank you for being you! Continue to shine beautiful Chris and Amy!"
