Strictly Come Dancing’s oldest contestant, Angela Rippon, has spoken up after she narrowly escaped elimination during the latest show.
The 79-year-old spoke to presenter Fleur East on Stricly’s spin-off, It Takes Two on Tuesday and said she was “cross” with herself after a dreaded dance-off alongside Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas.
"Oh it was really upsetting. I was cross with myself I think, because, clearly, I hadn’t done everything that Kai had been drumming into me during the week. But at the same time the upside to that is we got to dance it again and normally, of course, you don’t. It was lovely to be able to do it again,” she said.
During ‘It Takes Two’, Rippon was asked if she was nervous going up against Adam and Luba who had survived the previous week’s dance-off.
“I think the situation we’re in at the moment is the pool is getting so small now, there were nine of us there’s only eight of us now,” Rippon replied.
“Which means if there is only going to be three people in the final, then every week it gets tougher and someone is going to be the one who is going to be eliminated.”
She added: "What was tough about it, of course, is that Adam is such a lovely guy. We all absolutely adore him, we’ve all become great friends. When you are the other person in the dance-off, you know that you are going to battle it out with someone who’s become a mate. It’s tough, it is tough."
Rippon’s latest Strictly performance received mixed reviews as the judges said the presenter’s footwork was a little “wobbly”.
Judges said the presenter’s footwork was a little “wobbly”— (BBC/Guy Levy)
Speaking to Fleur about the performance, she said: "What was important to me is... it’s nice when the judges compliment you and indeed all four of them had something complimentary to say, but Craig sort of started it off when he said, ‘you took your foot off the floor when you were doing the pivots,’ and I find myself listening very intently.
"When the judges have something that is constructive criticism, you really should listen to what they have to say and I found myself leaning forward, listening, and I know a lot of people thought I was being grumpy and that I was being furious with the judges but it could not have been further from the truth."
Fans have been debating why Angela Rippon was saved from near-certain elimination on Sunday night.
Viewers have said Rippon’s dance routines were “strategically picked” to ensure she isn’t eliminated before the show travels to Blackpool.
Rippon has made history on the show as the oldest participant. She began her journalism career at the BBC as a broadcaster and was also one of the presenters of Come Dancing.
Strictly will be back on Sunday 5 November, with the results show which will see the next celebrity eliminated.
