Strictly Come Dancing fans admit their concern for Will Mellor with some left fearing he gave a 'goodbye' speech during Sunday night's semi-final
Things certainly didn't go to plan for the Coronation Street star and dance parter Nancy Xu on Sunday night.
Following their first below-par performance and after receiving their scores from the judges, Will said "I'm sorry" to her as he indicated that his time was almost up.
He then told Nancy he had let her down after their Paso Doble fell very flat.
When Claudia Winkleman spoke with the pair after the dance, he looked deflated and told the host he felt "rubbish".
"I worked hard and I let her down a little bit there," he explained. "I am not fishing for compliments.
"She told me right and I've just gone too aggressive and she told me to be calm."
Nancy attempted to reassure Will before he replied: "I tried."
Viewers hit out at the 'harsh' criticism from the judges.
Shirley Ballas told him: "There were quite a few things missing. You had the arrogance part, you came out and you delivered a good strong message.
"These are basic fundamentals from the very, very beginning, and they were very much missing from me.
Shirley went on to demonstrate how a Paso Doble should have been executed explaining: "It is very much built on an oval shape.
"It collapsed every time you picked her up. The arms were too straight when they were out to the side.
"These are basic fundamentals from the very, very beginning, and they were very much missing from me."
Fans now fear for his future on the show after a tough night on the dancefloor.
"Will had a good run but he definitely has to go," one wrote.
Another put: "Will to go this week. His time is up #Strictly."
"Will had a good run but he definitely has to go," a third put as another said: "That sounded like a goodbye speech."
Body language expert Judi James says although Will is sure to come back fighting, he will feel vulnerable.
"It’s been an emotional week that saw Will Mellor collapse under bad feedback from the judges," ," Judi said.
"Will was a crushed and beaten man after his first dance, as he apologised to Nancy and said he felt ‘rubbish’ that he had let her down.
"Will’s distress was visible in his body language when he kept up a ritual of touches and scratching, from his head to different areas of his face to some scratching of his chest, showing confusion and fear.
"He forced a smile on the balcony, but later he managed to come back fighting with his second dance.
"Will must be vulnerable for the dance-off and Nancy’s speech about him was touching but might not be compelling enough to score them more votes.
"He continued to interrupt with more apologies about his performance from the evening, as she began to speak about his dedication to his family and how she had wanted to "create a memory for him" and for "your family."
"This couple are strongly professional but in terms of their body language, but they could be at risk of elimination after the comments from the judges and the lack of emotional persuasion in their messages to the audience."
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Monday at 8.15pm on BBC One
