Ugo Monye performed his first dance on Strictly Come Dancing on the same day as his late father's funeral.
The rugby legend took to the Strictly dance floor on Week One of the BBC One competition as he was paired with professional dancer and consecutive two-time champion Oti Mabuse in last week's launch show.
Oti and Ugo performed the Samba to the track Iko Iko (My Bestie) by Justin Wellington ft Small Jam and received positive comments from the judges, particularly head judge Shirley Ballas.
However, before the couple received their first scores of the series, Ugo made an emotional admission about what had occurred earlier in the day.
Presenter Claudia Winkleman noted: "I know you wanted to dedicate this first dance to somebody very special."
Ugo revealed: "My dad passed away a couple of weeks ago - prostate cancer.
"We had his funeral this morning and during the funeral, we spoke about today being a day of celebration and that's exactly how the day felt.
"There's no better way of celebrating than by dancing. Tonight feels really special."
Viewers of Strictly Come Dancing took to Twitter to share their support of Ugo on this important day.
One fan of the show wrote: "All love to Ugo Monye tonight. Having his father’s funeral this morning and coming out and doing Strictly tonight- more power to the man #Strictly ".
A different viewer tweeted: "Ugo is brave His DAD’s funeral this morning tonight he’s on Strictly wow #Strictly ".
Meanwhile, one Strictly fan concluded: "Ugo has my heart! [red heart emoji] know his father is looking down and feeling proud! #Strictly @ugomonye #ugo ".
In response to the dance, judge Craig Revel-Horwood awarded Ugo a score of 3, while fellow judges Shirley, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke each awarded Ugo a score of 5.
No couples will be eliminated in Week One of the performances but Week Two will see the first results show next Sunday.
The judges' scores will be carried over from the first week until the second. See how Ugo and Oti rate with viewers on our Strictly scoreboard and add your scores for all the couples.
*Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 6.45pm.
What did you think of Ugo Monye and Oti Mabuse performing alongside each other? Let us know in the comments below.
