TV star Ross King has been eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, becoming the second contestant to leave the show.
The Scottish presenter – best known from Lorraine and Good Morning Britain – and his professional partner, Jowita Przystal, exited the competition after a tense dance-off against Eastenders actor Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon during Sunday night’s (12 October) results show.
Both couples performed their Movie Week routines from Saturday (11 October) once more, with King and Przystal dancing the Paso Doble to the theme tune from Thunderbirds. Sopal and Caillon danced a foxtrot to “The Way You Look Tonight” from the film Swing Time.
Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke all voted to save Balvinder and Caillon. Head judge Shirley Ballas said that she would have made the same decision.
Speaking about his time on the programme, King said: “I have loved every single minute of it. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us, all the people who voted – they’ve been amazing.
“I want to thank everyone here in this room, backstage, the judges, the crew – every single person here has made me so, so welcome.”
Speaking about Przystal, he said: “I want to thank a very special lady who has been with me through it all and has been absolutely everything: she’s been a mentor, teacher, carer.
“I could not have wished for a better partner, and I could not have wished to be on a better show. Thank you, judges, for all your remarks.”
Przystal thanked King for his work and time during rehearsals, adding: “I hope I’m going to be a little part in your life forever.”
King’s elimination does not come as a huge surprise given that he was awarded the lowest score on Saturday’s live show, earning just 19 points. (You can find the week three leaderboard in full here.) Du Beke, however, did praise the presenter as “the most improved” contestant this week.
Ballas acknowledged King’s dedication to the performance, stating: “You gave 1,000 per cent of yourself… this week you can go home and be very proud of what you’ve achieved.”
Sunday’s results show also featured a group routine from the Strictly professionals in tribute to this year’s Minecraft movie, as well as a performance of the song “Reflection” from the Disney film Mulan by Chinese pianist Lang Lang. He was accompanied by professional dancers Nancy Xu and Kai Widdrington.
As was announced earlier this week, Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis did not perform on Saturday due to illness. In line with the show’s rules, he and Dianne Buswell will automatically go through to the next stage of the competition.
Writing on Instagram, Dennis said that he was “so sorry” to miss the episode but expected to be back next week with a “rip roaring dance”. Buswell, meanwhile, addressed claims that she was the real reason behind Dennis’s absence.
The remaining 13 couples will return to the Strictly dancefloor next week on Saturday (18 October) at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
