Strictly Come Dancing's Chris Appleton was left in tears during Monday's It Takes Two (October 5) as host Ellie Taylor sat down with him and Amy Dowden following their departure from the BBC contest.
The pair became the first couple to be eliminated from the show on Sunday evening (October 4) after the judges unanimously chose to save Jaime Winstone rather than the celebrity hairdresser, bringing his journey to a close.
Emotional montage
During the episode, a montage of Chris's finest moments from his time on Strictly was played, leaving him visibly overwhelmed as he broke down in tears. Greeted by a round of applause from those in the studio, Ellie remarked: "I can see you're clearly really emotional about this; this has meant a lot to you."
The BBC presenter then asked what he felt he would take away from his time on the programme, as he was spotted dabbing his eyes.
Message to his children
He 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."
Pausing briefly to collect himself, Chris revealed what he had told his children before heading off to perform in the live show on Saturday (October 3). He added: "I literally would go out there shaking, I did it anyway."
Praise for Amy and the crew
He continued: "There were times where I was like, 'I'm not sure I can do this', but I did it. All I did was look back at Amy, I'd see her smile, and I knew she was with me, and you know what? That says something about the show, to have people that care so much about you."
The 43-year-old paused to commend the 'phenomenal' production staff working away from the cameras. He continued: "It really is a journey, it's a phenomenal one, and if you're lucky enough to do it, jump at it because it's amazing. But it's a journey."
Amy's reaction
Meanwhile, Amy shared her reaction to Chris becoming the opening celebrity elimination of the series, confessing she felt 'gutted'. When questioned about witnessing Chris' confidence develop, she told Ellie: "From the first day up till obviously dancing on Saturday night and again in that dance-off, he grew and grew and started to believe in himself."
She added: "I'm just gutted that we didn't get the opportunity to continue because, honestly, Chris had improved so much from week one to week two, and I think there was so much more to come, but I just hope you (Chris) believe in yourself more as I will always believe in you."
Strictly's It Takes Two continues weekdays on BBC Two from 6:30pm.
