Celebrity hairdresser Chris Appleton was moved to tears during Monday's edition of Strictly's It Takes Two (October 5) as he reflected on his early exit from Strictly Come Dancing. Host Ellie Taylor chatted to Appleton and his professional partner Amy Dowden following their departure from the BBC contest.
The duo became the first pair to leave the competition on Sunday evening (October 4) after the judges unanimously chose to save Jaime Winstone rather than the celebrity stylist.
Emotional montage
During It Takes Two, producers aired a montage of Appleton's finest moments throughout his Strictly stint, but he was swiftly overwhelmed and burst into tears. While receiving a massive ovation from the studio audience, Taylor observed: "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 had gained from his time on the show, as viewers watched him 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."
Taking a beat to gather himself, Appleton shared what he had told his children before departing to perform his routine for Saturday's live broadcast (October 3). He continued: "I literally would go out there shaking, I did it anyway."
He added: "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."
Amy Dowden's reaction
The 43-year-old took a moment to commend the team behind the scenes, adding: "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."
Meanwhile, Dowden shared her feelings on Appleton being the first celebrity to exit the competition, confessing she was 'gutted'. When asked about his growing confidence, she told Taylor: "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.
