Strictly Come Dancing star Nancy Xu appears to have defended her emotional appearance after being eliminated before the final. The professional dancer was left in tears during the semi-final results show on Monday as she and celebrity partner Will Mellor became the eleventh couple to leave the dance competition.
The dancing couple had a weekend of two halves as Will and Nancy were in high spirits when they scored 39 for their couples choice dance which was dedicated it to the nostalgia of his hometown of Manchester. The 46-year-old actor performed to an assortment of 1990s tracks – including Happy Mondays’ track Step On with Bez even spotted waving his maracas in the audience.
Judge Motsi Mabuse said the dance was a "comeback" following his disappointing paso doble to Uccen by Taalbi brothers and DWTS – in which he scored 32. Shirley Ballas told him the "basic fundamentals" were missing in the dance and the cape he used as a prop needed to be swung properly and not used "as a little scarf".
Will, who also suffered a wardrobe malfunction during the dance with a button popping off his trousers, said he was "feeling rubbish" after his performance. And unfortunately Will landed in the dreaded dance-off against Fleur East and her dance partner Vito Coppola with both couples having to dance again.
When it came to the judges' decision, Motsi and Craig Revel Horwood opted to save Fleur and Vito, who were facing being eliminated for the fourth time, while Anton Du Beke opted to save Will and Nancy. The decision, therefore, was left in the hands of head judge Shirley who sent Fleur and Vito to the final.
As they headed to speak to co-host Tess Daly, Nancy became emotional and later, during a special edition of the spin-off show It Takes Two, Will consoled Nancy as they both cried speaking about their exit and their Strictly journey together. And speaking out on their exit again on social media, Nancy appears to have referenced her upset state.
Sharing a picture of her and Will in an embrace during their last dance following the announcement they were to leave days before the final, Nancy wrote: " Where do I start~ well, even if it still hurts, I'm still super grateful for this journey And super proud for all the dances that we have performed on strictly come dancing this year.
"Thank you my partner @willmellor76 for all your commitment, Thanks for trust me, I have enjoyed to teach you so much, and you made me such a proud teacher and dance partner. The memories We made in this journey are beyond everything. I will hold them in a very special place in the deepest part of my heart. I adored this partnership so so much"
She went on to say: "Thank you thank you thank you all for the support and votes, all the positive comments, messages and your time, this meant a lot to me. To my strictly family, Thanks for everything and I'm super gratefu. I love you all. Congratulations to all the strictly 2022 finals, you are all amazing! enjoy the final week."
She then added at the end of her emotional post: "Ps: I know I was sobbing. After all I'm only human." Will was among the first to reply with the Stockport-born start writing: "I really wanted to dance in that final with you love!! We just wasn’t given the chance. Thank you so much for everything!! I wouldn’t want my Strictly journey with anyone else!!"
Former Strictly dance partner Rhys Stephenson also responded by typing: "Hold up your head Queen, it will come." And she got more support from the Strictly team. Gorka Marquez said: "You should be proud of your self and @willmellor76." Johannes Radebe commented: "You were outstanding babe."
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