Strictly Come Dancing contestant AJ Odudu has admitted there was a bit of a silver lining that came with landing in the bottom two for the first time last week.
AJ and her partner Kai Widdrington had a bit of a difficult night during Saturday’s live show, placing at the bottom of the leaderboard after a lift in their Salsa routine went awry.
Because of this, the pair ended up in the dance-off with Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova, with the judges unanimously voting to send the BBC Breakfast host home.
However, during an appearance on spin-off show It Takes Two, AJ revealed that one thing being in the dance-off allowed her was an opportunity to nail the lift that had previously caused her so much difficulty.
“It was stressful,” AJ said of being in the bottom two. “I was nervous going into that final lift.
“To be able to execute it and show everyone, ‘this is what it was meant to look like’ – I was really pleased.”
Having now survived her first dance-off, AJ is one of four celebrities still in the running for the Glitterball trophy ahead of this weekend’s semi-final.
She and fellow semi-finalists Rose Ayling-Ellis, John Whaite and Rhys Stephenson will all perform twice in Saturday night’s live show for the first time this series.
It’s also been announced that all four of them will be taking part in the Strictly live tour next year, although quarter-finalist Dan Walker has revealed why he turned down the offer to join them.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 7.05pm on BBC One, while It Takes Two airs weeknights at 6.30pm on BBC Two.