Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon have become the latest couple to leave Strictly Come Dancing after finishing bottom of the leaderboard during Icons Week. The Manchester-born Paralympian, 48, and her partner failed to impress the judges with a tango to Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much," scoring 21 for their routine on Saturday's (October 17) episode.
The couple lost the dance-off to Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu, with all four judges choosing to save Bethany. Their reaction to the elimination was captured on the first episode of Strictly: Lights Up, hosted by Abi Clarke and Tyler West, which became available on iPlayer immediately after the show's credits rolled.
Couple prepared for dance-off
Speaking on Strictly: Lights Up, Julian admitted they were ready for the possibility of leaving. "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!" he said. His Strictly career has involved several dance-offs, having joined the BBC series last year with his first partner, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal.
Julian also expressed pride in Sarah's performance in the dance-off: "I am so unbelievably proud of Sarah. That dance off, that is the best that she has ever danced. When we were rehearsing I just said, 'go out and give it full beans', and no matter what happens at least you'll know you gave it your best."
Sarah said she was "disappointed" that she "doesn't get to bring it on Monday to try and do the same again." She added: "I was just keen to try new dance styles and see whether the Latin would suit me, but we will never know but at least I got the chance to do the dance as I did."
Judges' verdict and what's next
Anton Du Beke said of the dance-off: "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 return after receiving a bye this week due to injury. Sarah and Julian will appear on Strictly: It Takes Two on Monday (October 19) at 6:30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
