‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has said goodbye to another of its celebrity contestants, with Steve Backshall being chosen by the judges to leave the competition in Sunday night’s show.
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The TV naturalist found landed in the dance-off with ‘Casualty’ actress Sunetra Sarker, after failing to impress viewers in Saturday’s live show with his American football-inspired Jive to Frankie Lymon’s ‘Little Bitty Pretty One’.
He was chosen to leave by three of the four judges, with only Darcey Bussell opting to keep him in the competition.
The two couples in the dance-off await their fate
Steve, who had been partnered with ‘Strictly’ pro Ola Jordan throughout the series, admitted that he was “gutted” to level, but went on to say he was proud of the progress he’d made during his ‘Strictly’ experience.
He said: “I don't think you can underestimate the achievement to take someone who was quite as bad as I was and get them to week nine!
"To all my fellow contestants, the absolute highlight is seeing these people, who have become really good friends of mine - it has blown my mind seeing Mark [Wright] blossom from nothing into a superstar, seeing Jake [Wood]'s salsa, Sunetra's american smooth, Judy [Murray]'s foxtrot..."
Steve talks to Tess Daly
This weekend also saw a performance from Barry Manilow, who performed some of his biggest hits, and a routine between two same-sex professional dancers for the first time on ‘Strictly’, although it only lasted a matter of seconds.
Frankie Bridge and ‘EastEnders’ actor Jake Wood both topping the leaderboard, with the latter getting everybody talking with his decision to inject a bit of twerking into his Samba routine.
Seven couples now remain in the competition, with next weekend’s live shows taking on an ‘All Around The World’ theme.