Strictly Come Dancing
The legendary contestant reveals the unexpected friendship Strictly brought into his life and why he was almost forced to pull out altogether.
The show's resident judge will miss Saturday's show after testing positive for Covid.
"We never really celebrated afterwards."
Including performances inspired by Les Misérables, Mary Poppins and Frozen.
Aljaž sparked speculation his days at Strictly could be numbered with a comment he made during Sunday's results show.
"Aljaž kept trying to call me and I didn’t want to talk to him because it would make me cry even more!"
"We are sending you all our love and we can’t wait to see you really soon."
The long-serving Russian professional has been dogged by negative stories in the media throughout this year's Strictly.
The BBC Breakfast presenter continued his streak of avoiding the dance-off over the weekend.
"It’s been a life changing experience and one I’ve loved every second of.”
About Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing' is a celebrity-pro ballroom dance competition, which launched on BBC One in 2004. It's inspired by former BBC show 'Come Dancing', and shares its name with 1992 film 'Strictly Ballroom'. Being one of the most popular shows on TV, it goes head-to-head with ITV's 'The X Factor' from September to December every year on Saturday and Sunday nights. It was originally hosted by Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, but Claudia Winkleman has taken over from the veteran entertainer since he stepped down in 2014. The current judges are Craig Revel-Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Shirley Ballas, who has replaced Len Goodman as Head Judge. Alesha Dixon and Arlene Phillips have both previously sat on the panel. The show is now its 15th series, with the 2017 line-up made up of Alexandra Burke, Aston Merrygold, Brian Conley, Charlotte Hawkins, Chizzy Akudolu, Davood Ghadami, Debbie McGee, Gemma Atkinson, Joe McFadden, Jonnie Peacock, Mollie King, Richard Coles, Ruth Langsford, Simon Rimmer and Susan Calman. Last year's competition won by BBC sports presenter Ore Oduba and his partner Joanne Clifton, who followed in the footsteps of previous winners like Jay McGuiness, Caroline Flack, Louis Smith, Alesha Dixon, Harry Judd and Abbey Clancy. The 2017 series saw the departure of professional dancers Natalie Lowe, Joanne Clifton and Oksana Platero who all quit the show. Among the current line-up are Brendan Cole, Anton DuBeke, Kevin and Karen Clifton and Pasha Kovalev and Oti Mabuse.