Dame Sarah Storey became the third celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night, after losing a dance-off to actress Bethany Antonia. The Paralympian had finished bottom of the leaderboard following an Icons Week tango that left her in tears during training.
A Tough Week for Sarah
The multi medal-winning Paralympian admitted she felt "very exposed" performing as Shania Twain for Icons Week. She looked shocked when the real Shania appeared on screen to give her and partner Julian Caillon a good luck message, inviting Dame Sarah to show her the dance the next time she is in the UK for a gig, adding: "I hope you impress the judges."
Moments later, the four judges, led by Shirley Ballas, awarded her the lowest scores of the night, with all 5s apart from Anton du Beke's 6, leaving her with 21 points. Head judge Shirley described the dance as "like a tango I've never seen before in my entire life," saying it was "all toe-led" with "no heel" and that it had "too much bounce."
Craig Revel Horwood said she had "dropped the ball" during the solo sections, while Motsi noted that at least she had stopped counting out loud, which she had been criticised for the previous week.
Judges' Feedback and Public Vote
Anton, often the most positive judge, gave her a pep talk, saying "you're better than you think you are" and urging her to "believe in yourself a bit more because you're really quite good." He pointed out that she never makes mistakes during her live performance and called her timing "immaculate," also telling her: "You're stopping yourself from taking the next step."
During the week, the 48-year-old mum-of-two had told how much she was struggling with the dance, writing on social media: "Big fat tango tears almost taking me down today. Typical that the words of the song I was making all the mistakes in were 'That Don't Impress Me Much'." On Saturday night, she told presenter Emma Willis that Anton was right and she was "a little bit" lacking in self-belief. "It's very strange to be strutting in a costume and a wig," she confessed. "Being asked to do it, I feel very exposed."
In the dance-off, Bethany Antonia performed a Cha Cha as Aretha Franklin to "Respect," scoring 28 for her original routine. All four judges voted to save Bethany, sending Sarah home.
Other Highlights from the Show
Top of the leaderboard were Cach Mercer, who did a foxtrot as Frank Sinatra, and Jaime Winstone, who was David Bowie for her Paso Doble, both scoring 34 points. Sunday's results show also saw the professional dancers transform into different eras of Madonna, and there was a tribute to Dolly Parton as singer Belles sang "Jolene," accompanied by a performance from Amy Dowden and Kai Widdrington.
Delta Goodrem missed this week's show as she nurses her injured ribs but is expected to return next week.
