Kym Marsh has sent a fresh message to fans after an emotional Strictly Come Dancing appearance over the weekend. The former Coronation Street star appeared relieved to make it through to another week in the BBC One dance contest after landing in the bottom two earlier this month.
Kym and her Italian dance partner Graziano Di Prima closed the special show and danced the Quickstep to Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz. The song was chosen to celebrate the BBC’s centenary and was previously featured on Strictly’s predecessor show Come Dancing.
Their performance was opened by Angela Rippon, one of the original presenters of Come Dancing, before the couple took to the dancefloor for a high-octane routine in flamboyant outfits. However, Kym appeared disappointed as she and Graziano secured a score of 27 leaving them in the bottom end of the leaderboard.
During a chat with host Claudia Winkleman on Sunday's results show (October 23) after making it through to Halloween week, Kym became emotional as she reflected on this weekend's events. Claudia then sprung a sweet surprise on the 46-year-old - a clip of her grandchildren dancing along with her at home as they watched her fly across the floor with professional dance partner Graziano.
"When you dance, they dance too," introduced Claudia as she showed Kym the video. "My babies," Kym could be heard saying as she watched alongside Graziano before Strictly co-host Claudia apologised for tugging at her heartstrings. "I'm so sorry to make you emotional again," she soothed. And Kym told her: "They are honestly my biggest fans. Every week we get a video like that and it warms my heart."
After sharing her gratitude on social media following the results show, Kym returned to Instagram on Wednesday (October 26) to share a message to fans as she prepares for another stint in the ballroom.
"Hi everyone, just thought I'd drop in and have another chat with you like I did last week," the mum-of-three said in the clip. "Thank you so much, first of all, to everyone who voted for us. It got us through to Halloween week and we are absolutely delighted to be here and rehearsing again."
Kym revealed that she and Graziano will be performing a rumba this week, which is notoriously difficult for the celebs each year. But the actress, who played Michelle Connor for 13 years in Corrie, said she is loving it, just like Graziano told her she would right back when they started their Strictly journey together.
"It's great and so I have to be a bit of a witch-type character for our dance. We're dancing to Frozen by Madonna which happens to be one of my favourite tracks." She then laughed as she joked she could get into the part and 'pull off' being a witch.
"We've had a really good week so far, spirits have been up and we've managed to do some fun things as well," Kym added, sharing she and her dance partner had taken part in a new photoshoot and attended the Pride of Britain Awards.
She said the annual event was 'inspiring' and after suffering with 'bad anxiety' in recent weeks, Kym said it gave her some perspective. "There's people going through so much and I'm getting anxiety over a dance," she said. "So I thought right, I'm going to have a word with myself and say, 'Marsh, you can do it! You can do it!' So on Saturday night I'm going to go out there and do my very best."
She then thanked viewers and fans for their support before encouraging them to keep voting for her and Graziano "because we want to stay," she added. But it comes after she was dealt a blow ahead of her next routine. Bookies reckon Kym and Graziano could face elimination this weekend.
Kym is the 6-4 favourite with bookmaker Coral to be the next contestant to leave Strictly while EastEnders actor James Bye is 5-2 to depart, and comedian and actress Ellie Taylor is 3-1 to be the fifth contestant to go. In the outright market for the Glitterball Trophy, Hamza Yassin is the odds-on favourite at 8-11, with Will Mellor next best at 9-2.
"Our betting suggests Kym Marsh’s Strictly journey will come to end this weekend. However, this series has been full of surprises when it comes to the dance-off and eliminations, so nobody will feel they are safe," said Coral’s John Hill. "Hamza Yassin continues to attract support to lift the Glitterball Trophy. The presenter is now odds-on to win the series," added Hill.
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