Former Love Island star Cach Mercer has described his first Strictly Come Dancing dance-off as "difficult" after surviving the elimination on Saturday's live show. He and professional partner Maddie Ingoldsby faced Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, with head judge Shirley Ballas choosing to save Cach following a split decision.
Speaking on Tuesday's It Takes Two (November 10), Cach reflected on the close call and his relief at remaining in the competition.
'Under so much pressure'
"The weekend was difficult, definitely an experience, our first time in the dance off, but really happy to still be here, and looking forward to next weekend," he said.
Maddie added: "Honestly, you don't know which way the competition is going to go, so you have to prepare for anything. You never know if it will be your last chance on the dance floor, but when it was us, we were in the back of the room, and we just said we're going to dance for each other, and have the best time on the floor like it was the last time."
Cach said he felt he was "under so much pressure" after feedback from the judges during the live show, adding, "I did what had to be done". He continued: "It was emotional considering it might have been our last time dancing."
Bethany's exit
Reflecting on competing against Game of Thrones actress Bethany, Cach admitted it was "difficult", saying: "I know how much she loves the show and how hard she works each week. She was like the big sister of the group, she always checked on me to see if I was ok. A very loving person, she was one of those people I didn't want to have to do anything against, if possible. Nonetheless, she still wished me the best of luck and I wished her the same and that just showed her character, she just wanted the best for me no matter what happened."
Bethany spoke about her exit on Monday's It Takes Two, sharing: "I just loved it so much, and that routine, for that to be the one that we went out on just meant so much to me. I'm going to remember that night forever." She added: "I feel like it's brought out so many different parts of me that I didn't even expect to find in such a short time. It's just been a proper experience."
Nancy said: "I feel like I'm dancing with someone who felt exactly the emotions with me, who felt exactly the energy, we created this memory together." Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two airs weeknights from 6.30pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
