Anastacia gave an emotional speech as she left ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in Sunday night’s (30 October) results show.
The ‘I’m Outta Love’ singer and her professional partner Brendan Cole found themselves in the dance-off against Daisy Lowe and Aljaž Škorjanec, but after scoring a full eight points lower the night before, it came as no surprise that the judges chose to eliminate Anastacia.
She was full of praise for the show, thanking ‘Strictly’ for helping her “get to know her ‘female’”.
Visibly fighting back tears, Anastacia told presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman: “I’ve really enjoyed being here.
“This was a place for me to get to know my ‘female’ and this place allowed me to do that. The hair, the make-up, the production... the judges gave me great comments.”
Anastacia has spoken openly in the past about how she hoped appearing on ‘Strictly’ would give her the confidence to bare the mastectomy scars on her back, after her past battle with cancer.
She told HuffPost UK shortly before the start of the series: “I want to discover how to use my upper body, because with my radical mastectomy, I had to remove my lats completely from the bone and attach them to the front.
“So with the costumes, I sort of want them to feel comfortable, but I also have these huge scars on my back, and these costumes are very revealing.”
It was also revealed before the beginning of the series that Anastacia would be donating her fee to a breast cancer charity.
Anastacia has had a tougher time in ‘Strictly’ than most, after she was forced to pull out of a dance-off in the second week of live shows, due to an injury involving her mastectomy scars.
Alarmingly, this even led to a backlash from some viewers, who argued it was unfair that Melvin Odoom was sent home over Anastacia without a proper chance to defend his place in the competition.
Weeks later, Anastacia was left having to dance with Gorka Marquez, while Brendan Cole recovered from a severe chest infection.