Strictly Come Dancing star Tony Adams has revealed he had a tense conversation with professional partner Katya Jones before last week’s live show.
While Tony and Katya are currently the lowest-scoring pair left in the competition, last week the Arsenal star received praise from the judges for his improvement following his American Smooth routine.
Speaking to Rylan Clark on spin-off show It Takes Two, Tony revealed that Katya paid a visit to his dressing room to tell him some “home truths” before they went live.
“I was full of fear beforehand, and we had a ‘team talk’,” Tony explained. “She came to my dressing room before and after the dress rehearsal, and told me a few home truths about me holding back.
“I think [the talk] could have gone either way! I could have thrown my toys out the pram and just gone home! But I kind of fought back the fear and stuff, and just kind of went for it. And thankfully, even the fleckerls came off!”
Katya agreed: “What you said is right. I took a risk, because I thought, ‘I think I can give him a little bit of [a push]’. And it could have gone completely [wrong]… it could have fallen apart, or it could have given him that extra fire in his belly.
“I thought, ‘no I’m going to take a risk, because I think that’s what he needs right now’. And it definitely did pay off.”
Tony then interjected: “The last time I got told off like that was [from former Arsenal manager] George Graham! And I left the dressing room! I said, ‘not for me anymore, I’m going home’.
“She’s more attractive than George Graham, maybe that’s why I put up with it.”
This week, Tony will be performing a Cha Cha Cha to the iconic Grandstand theme tune as part of Strictly’s BBC 100 week, celebrating some of the broadcaster’s most famous shows as part of its centenary celebrations.
Asked how rehearsals are going, Tony admitted: “It’s really difficult, Mondays and Tuesdays are my horrific days.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 6.40pm on BBC One.