Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington joked that he and his co-star girlfriend Nadiya Bychkova are now “even” after he became the first professional to be sent home from the current series.
Over the weekend, Kai and his celebrity partner Kaye Adams landed in the first dance-off of the series against singer Matt Goss and his partner Nadiya, who Kai just happens to have been in a relationship with since earlier this year.
During an interview on spin-off show It Takes Two, presenter Rylan Clark asked Kai how he’d found being in the bottom two with his girlfriend, to which he pointed out it wasn’t actually their first time together in the dance-off.
“Last year, my only dance-off, was also against Nadiya, and I knocked her out, so it’s one-one now,” he joked. “So we’re even!”
Kai added: “We didn’t want to be against [one another]… it wasn’t nice. We got close to [Matt and Nadiya] over the short time we’ve been here, but it’s not nice to be in there against anyone.”
Posting after Sunday’s results show aired, Nadiya also wrote on Instagram: “It’s always tough to be in the first ever dance off of the series and it was especially tough to be in there against the amazing [Kaye] and of course my [Kai].
“I’m gutted for you both [Kaye] you are really a superstar and I absolutely adore you. You did an incredible job and I’m sure from what you told me you had an amazing Strictly experience with [Kai].”
While judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all opted to send Kaye and Kai home, Shirley Ballas later admitted that she did not agree with the way her co-stars voted.
Following the Loose Women panellist’s elimination, the remaining 14 couples will all be performing routines inspired by films at the weekend during Saturday night’s Movies Week special.