'Strictly Come Dancing' Says Goodbye To Dragon Deborah Meaden (PICTURES)

Tears On 'Strictly' As Deborah Gets The Boot

Strictly Come Dancing has waved goodbye to its fourth celebrity - Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden.

She was given the boot by the judges after going head-to-head with Casualty's Patrick Robinson in the dance-off.

Meaden and her partner Robin Windsor performed their Viennese Waltz to It's a Man's World by James Brown, while Robinson and his partner Anya Garnis performed their Salsa to Wings by Little Mix.

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Tess Daly with Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor

Judges Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood all chose to save Robinson in Sunday night's show.

Revel Horwood said last night: "I would like to save the couple who both did the best dancing in the dance-off tonight and that couple is Patrick and Anya."

Bussell described how she wished "both couples weren't even here", while Tonioli said: "Let me say you both did a great job but one of you had the edge for me and that was Patrick and Anya."

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Head judge Len Goodman added that he would have voted the same way as his colleagues if required, saying: "Deborah, you did much better in that dance-off and my heart goes out to you."

Speaking after her elimination was confirmed, Meaden praised the efforts of her partner.

"Strictly gave me a gift but the big gift that Strictly gave me was this guy," she said. "To teach me to dance, to find something I never even knew I could do and to make it the best. He's wonderful. There's going to be tears. No, I'm a dragon, there'll be no tears."

An emotional Windsor added: "I just want to say for Deborah, she loved it so much."

A number of the dancers defied injuries in their bid to impress the judges on Saturday night.

Robinson had to soldier through his salsa with a sprained right hand, while ex-Coronation Street actress Natalie Gumede is still undergoing treatment for a painful spinal injury. Her partner Artem Chigvintsev revealed he had fractured his nose.

Even the Strictly judges were not free from the litany of aches and pains, with Revel Horwood making it to the panel despite undergoing a hip operation after last week's show.

Gumede and her partner battled through their injuries to deliver an impressive samba, winning 35 points and coming joint top of the leaderboard with Abbey Clancy.

The women were on form on Saturday night as former Bond girl Fiona Fullerton came back fighting against her critics after coming bottom last week. She won a standing ovation for her quickstep.

The A View To A Kill star, who was given a few words of encouragement by 007 actor Sir Roger Moore ahead of the show, picked up 30 points from the judges.

Darcey Bussell hailed her performance as her most impressive yet, saying: "Finally, fabulous Fiona. You were light on your feet and beautifully confident - your best dance."

The results show also featured a performance from US band Earth, Wind and Fire.

Eleven couples now remain in the competition.