Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Odudu was in tears as she spoke about her "unbreakable bond" with Kai Widdrington.
The presenter was forced to quit the BBC One show after sustaining an injury to her ankle, leaving just Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice and John Whaite and Johannes Radebe to fight for the glitterball trophy.
And whilst AJ wasn't able to dance, she still made an appearance at the final, complete with a Strictly-fied medical moonboot and a pair of sparkly crutches as she spoke about her and Kai's close bond.
She told host Claudia Winkleman: "This show is so important to so many people including myself. It's made me closer to my family and friends and now I've got this unbreakable bond with Kai.
"He's literally the most genius, smartest, patient teacher I could have ever wished to grace the dancefloor with. I am sad to be bowing out of the competition but I would have rather it happened like this than not at all."
AJ heartbreakingly had to quit the BBC One show after tearing her ligament.
She said: "My ankle’s given way and my ligament has ruptured and it’s just not gonna happen. We’re gutted because we were ready to smash it. This isn’t the way that we wanted to go out, obviously, but even just looking back at all of those moments, it’s just been an absolute pleasure dancing with Kai every single week, so thank you."
AJ recently explained how much she had tried to be fit for the show.
"I've had ultrasounds, MRI scans and x-rays. I've had two incisions to drain the inflammation around my ankle," she detailed in an Instagram post earlier, "I've injected local anaesthetic directly into my foot, I have been strapped up to an ice compression machine for days. I've done all I can possibly do to get back on my feet for the @bbcstrictly final.
"I even asked the docs if I could perform in a medical moonboot! But the fact is, I can't stand on my feet let alone dance because I've torn my spring ligament."
