Paralympic gold medalist Will Bayley brought the Strictly Come Dancing judges to tears on Saturday night, with his Contemporary dance routine.
The table tennis star was born with arthrogryposis, a condition which affects his joints, and was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, as a child, receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street hospital.
Will said before this year’s series that he was taking part in Strictly to “inspire people with a disability”, a sentiment he echoed when he and partner Janette Manrara delivered their Couple’s Choice routine in this week’s live show.
Shortly before taking to the floor, Will said in his opening VT that he was dedicating his performance to anyone who was watching in hospital, eventually moving judges Motsi Mabuse and Alfonso Ribeiro to tears.
“That was incredibly inspiring,” said Alfonso, revealing the performance gave him “chills”. “There are young boys and girls who watch that performance and know that anything is possible.”
Will gave a tearful Motsi a hug after his performance, while Shirley Ballas agreed: “I’m sure every child in every children’s hospital is looking at that today and has discovered that no matter what you put your mind to you can do it under extreme circumstances.
“You are inspiring, you give the whole nation hope, and I just thought it was a great number wonderfully executed.”
But while Will earned his highest score of the series for his performance, it was YouTube vlogger Saffron Barker who topped the leaderboard this week.
It had been a tough week for Saffron, who had been struggling with a back injury in rehearsals, but her hard work paid off as she earned 38 points out of a possible 40 for her Foxtrot to New York, New York.
Sadly, things didn’t go so well for footballer David James or sports presenter Mike Bushell, who wound up at the bottom of the leaderboard, after a strong showing for both of them last week.
Mike’s Samba pulled in just 21 points, while David fared even worse in the Jive, being awarded just 16.
Find out which celebrity will be shown the door in this week’s Strictly results show, airing tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One.
