Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left incredibly moved by Hamza Yassin as he was overheard paying a heartfelt tribute to his pro partner Jowita Pryzstal, as their routine came to an end in Blackpool.
Wildlife cameraman and current bookies favourite to win, Hamza hasn't been far away from the leaderboard since week one, when he shared the top spot with Will Mellor. After a string of amazing performances, Hamza has now been odds on favourite to take home the Glitterball this year for weeks, meaning the pressure was on for him and Jowita to deliver the goods as Strictly returned to Blackpool's iconic Tower Ballroom after a three year hiatus on Saturday night.
Opening the show flanked by other dancers and with no expense spared on presentation, Hamza and Jowita lit up the dancefloor with an American Smooth to New York, New York, bringing the house down as the dance reached its crescendo. And, as the Blackpol crowd rose to their feet and the music ended, mics in the ballroom picked up Hamza telling Jowita: "You're amazing," before repeating the same remark again.
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The judges were full of praise for Hamza and Jowita. Giving his critique, Anton Du Beke said their routine was the 'dance he'd love to do,' while head judge Shirley Ballas declared that Hamza was 'the one to beat.' The comments for the performance were reflected in the scores Hamza and Jowita received, with Craig and Motsi both giving a 9 and Shirley and Anton going one better by awarding a 10 each, giving the couple a hard to top score of 38 out of 40.
Reacting to their dance and Hamza's tribute to Jowita, one fan took to Twitter to post: "hamza telling jowita over and over how amazing she is has already sent me over," with another tweeting: "Hamza always radiates happiness and warmth, but this dance was class and elegance too. Love the way he shows off Jowita."
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