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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

Strictly's Will Mellor was puzzled by judges' harsh comments as he battled sickness

Strictly Come Dancing 's Will Mellor has confessed he thought he'd done ok with his most recent dance before the judges placed him second last on the leaderboard.

There was a question over whether Will and his pro dance partner Nancy Xu would even perform last weekend after he came down with a virus.

Will was bed bound and in bad shape for the whole week, after having to stop rehearsals on the Monday.

But after deciding to go ahead with the routine on Saturday night, he managed to squeeze in just four hours of training before the dance.

All things considered, Will pulled off a moving routine and one that was applauded by the audience.

But while he and Nancy were proud of what they did, considering Will was still poorly, the judges were quick to offer criticism over his technique.

Strictly Come Dancing's Will Mellor has confessed he thought he'd done okay with his most recent dance (BBC)

Viewers called their remarks "harsh" given that Will looked really rough, and could barely talk while he also kept coughing.

Concerned fans were hoping he would get to go home then and there, but he had to stay for the filming of the dance-off - which he managed to escape.

Now, speaking to It Takes Two host Janette Manrara on the Strictly spin-off on Thursday Will confessed he was surprised by the feedback he got.

Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor is back on top form after battling illness next week (BBC)

While he knew it wasn't his best dance, he said he did the best he could have done, and hoped the judges would see that.

He explained: "I got four hours. It was the best I could have done it. I was happy before the dance, I was like 'let's just do this'.

"I was happy and the audience's reaction in the studio felt good, and everything went good until the judges started talking and then I was like, 'oh, maybe it wasn't as good as I thought it was'."

While Will was near the bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday night, it was Kym Marsh and Matt Goss who faced the dance-off.

Will confessed he was surprised by the feedback he got (BBC)

Matt and Kym both performed again, but the judges chose to send Matt home - while he did place the bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday.

Speaking about his time on the show as he left, he said: "It’s an extraordinary experience, I have been in America for 25 years. Thank you judges for your candour, you’ve helped me in many ways, my posture – Anton, I am more aware of it.

"This lovely lady beside me, a world champion with all the patience. I am very honoured to have danced with you, and everyone who is still in, I love you guys, go smash it guys."

Strictly Come Dancing continues live on Saturday at 6:40pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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