Katie Piper has reflected on her ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ “journey”, after becoming the third celebrity eliminated from this year’s series.
Over the weekend, the judges decided that it was time for Katie and her partner Gorka Marquez to leave the competition, after winding up in the dance-off against Charles Venn and Karen Clifton.
In a video posted on her Twitter account after her elimination, Katie shared her gratitude for the experience, conceding it was probably the right decision to send her home.
“I wasn’t the best dancer in the competition,” she said with a laugh. “But I did have so much fun. And to get to week four, I didn’t expect to get that far.”
After thanking her fans who voted and supported her on social media, she described how she felt she’d transformed during her short stint on ‘Strictly’, saying: “Who I was on week one was so different to how I felt last night, and I feel so privileged to have been part of that journey, and have that progress.
“Thank you to the BBC and everyone at ‘Strictly’, all the judges, the contestants, the production, for such a great experience.
“I’m never, ever going to forget this, and even though I’m not on the show, I’ve not left the ‘Strictly’ family and I’ll be watching every Saturday as I can’t wait to see who wins. Everyone is brilliant who’s left.”
Katie previously said that her involvement in ‘Strictly’ had been a welcome distraction from the release of Stefan Sylvestre, who was given a life sentence in 2008 after throwing acid in the model and TV personality’s face.
Last month, she revealed she was finding her ‘Strictly’ experience particularly difficult because of “personal” and “legal” issues she was dealing with away from the show.
Prior to this weekend’s live performances, Seann Walsh had been named the bookies’ favourite for the chop, having dominated the headlines for the past week when he was caught on camera kissing his professional partner, Katya Jones.