Strictly Come Dancing fans think they have figured out why Tony Adams landed in his first dance-off before having to make the shock decision to withdraw from the competition. The former footballer made it to week eight in the BBC One dance contest alongside professional partner Katya Jones before facing the bottom two for the first time.
But rather than fight for his survival in the hit dance competition in a bid to secure a place in week nine which will see the cast and crew head to Blackpool for the first time in three years, Tony was forced to withdraw from Strictly with an injury. This meant that opponents Tyler West and Dianne Buswell were automatically saved from the dance-off.
Tony, 56, and Katya ended up in the dreaded dance-off after failing to impress the judges with a jive to Land Of 1,000 Dances by Wilson Pickett, earning just 24 and bottom place on the leaderboard. And it is thought it is during his Saturday night routine he hurt himself leading to him being unable to dance again.
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During Sunday night's results show, Strictly co-host Tess Daly said: "Due to an injury sustained on Saturday night, Tony is unable to take part in the dance-off and has decided to withdraw from the competition. This means there will be no dance-off tonight and Tyler and Dianne are through to Blackpool."
Following the news, Tony said his Strictly experience has been "emotional" adding: “I cried for the first month." The former Arsenal and England star said: "I came in here with one message, if you’ve got an issue with mental health then please don’t suffer in silence and reach out for help.
“Little did I know that I was going to learn a lot about myself in the process. I thought this ‘journey’ rubbish was nonsense, but my God the rollercoaster of emotion. I’ve got to be honest, it’s tough, physically it’s really tough out there, but dancing is really fantastic for you. Go out there and enjoy it, and pick up new skills and explore."
Referencing his dance partner, Tony added: "I suppose I had better mention this one (Katya), hadn’t I? She is an exceptional human being, she really is." He also took to Instagram to share how he could "no longer ignore medical advice". Sharing a joyous photo of him being held aloft by his new Strictly pals he apologised to Tyler for not being able to perform the dance-off and thanked everyone who made his experience an "unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilarating 8 weeks."
But taking to social media, Strictly fans were quick to share why they think Tony had landed in the dance-off for the first time, despite regularly sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard.
@MartynSands1 tweeted: "We were all so busy watching the Wolves game we forgot to vote for Tony Adams! #Strictly #arsenal." @si_crosby commented: "So, all it took to get Tony Adams in the dance off was a Saturday night game for Arsenal!! #Strictly."
@BarryH_71 shared: "Arsenal playing whilst #Strictly was on has done for Tony Adams." @turnerchris asked: "Is it coincidence that @TonyAdams was in dance off when @Arsenal were playing during voting last night? Took their eye off the ball? #Strictly." @DaveH86702538 added: "#strictly Arsenal playing last night whilst voting open… Poor Tony."
It comes after Strictly fans claimed it was Arsenal supporters keeping Tony in the competition following last weekend's emotional dance-off which saw Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin leave the competition.
@darkhawk71 tweeted: "The Arsenal fanbase mobilising to keep Tony Adams in #Strictly is a highlight of the year... The meltdown it's causing among some hardcore fans is hilarious." @LifeOverStrife wrote: "Ridiculous Ellie out and I know he can’t help it , but Tony Adams kept in - think the Arsenal supporters & those who fancy him are voting…" @CourierBoyUK shared: "Dunno how many Arsenal fans there are but it seems most of ‘em are voting for Tony Well done anyway #Strictly."
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