Dame Sarah Storey has spoken out after becoming the latest celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, with former runner-up Chelsee Healey among those sending her love.
The Paralympic champion and her partner Julian Caillon were voted off the BBC One dancing competition after their tango to That Don't Impress Me Much by Shania Twain placed them bottom of the leaderboard during Saturday's (October 17) Icons Week episode, scoring 21 for their routine.
Storey's tribute to partner Caillon
Taking to her Instagram for the first time since her exit was announced, Storey penned a gushing tribute to Caillon after their time together on the show came to an end.
She wrote: "Thank you for being the best pro I could have ever wished for @julian_caillon you really are a wonderful and fabulous human and I so loved our time on the show.
"Shorter than we wished for, I will miss not learning a new dance with you tomorrow and trying to put all the tips and feedback into practice PS I love your idea of a bike ride".
Support from fellow contestants
In the comments, Amy Dowden and Nancy Xu sent her love, alongside former runner-up actress Chelsee Healey, who was on Strictly back in 2011. She wrote: "ahh well done sarah loved watching you".
During the spin-off Lights Up episode, when asked if they had prepared themselves for the dance off, Caillon quipped that his Strictly journey so far has involved a lot of dance offs. He joined the BBC series last year, with his first partner being EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, and the pair being in the bottom two many times during their stint on the show.
Judges' decisions and next week
He said: "I think if you finish bottom of the leader board naturally you have to prepare, and I think this is just me based on my journey with Strictly thus far, I'm always ready for a dance off!"
As all four judges chose to save Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu in the dance off, Anton Du Beke said: "I thought they both danced well. It was interesting, really, because I did think Sarah improved. We talked about performance and I thought, 'oh this is good'. This is gonna be difficult. Then Bethany came out and she was even bigger... They should both be thrilled with their dance."
Shirley Ballas added: "Oh, she's come great strides from the very, very beginning. But I think she gets too in her own head, she's a little bit tough on herself and I think when Bethany went out, she just thought 'I'm gonna throw it all out there on the dance floor' and that was the difference, for me, was the commitment to the work that they were doing."
The remaining 12 couples will take to the dancefloor next week, with Australian singer Delta Goodrem set to make a return after receiving a bye this week due to an injury.
