It was quite the eventful weekend for Strictly Come Dancing 2022, with former footballer Tony Adams having to leave the competition due to injury.
Tony was set to perform in Sunday’s dance-off against Tyler West, with the Arsenal pro and his partner Katya Jones landing at the bottom of the Strictly leaderboard following their Jive.
On Sunday night, Tony took to Twitter to apologise to fans for having to pull out of the show, saying: “There comes a point when you can no longer ignore medical advice, and very sadly my point came tonight. Sorry I couldn’t dance off against my friend [Tyler West], but thank you thank you to ALL [at BBC Strictly] who made this into an unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilarating eight weeks.”
There comes a point when you can no longer ignore medical advice, and very sadly my point came tonight. Sorry I couldn’t dance off against my friend @TylerWestt , but thank you thank you to ALL @bbcstrictly who made this into an unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilirating 8 weeks pic.twitter.com/xn7JKVWWH7
— Tony Adams (@TonyAdams) November 13, 2022
In response, Tyler posted on Instagram to praise his fellow contestant, commenting on how much he loved his dance this week (a Paso Doble to Unstoppable by ES Posthumus) and how excited he was for the series’s upcoming Blackpool Week.
Tony’s Strictly partner Katya Jones joined in, sharing some behind-the-scenes pictures of the pair on Instagram and praising the star for leading “by example”. She said: “By throwing yourself into this wild experience, totally surrendering to it, by showing up every single day and doing your absolute best – you connected and resonated with so many people at homes.”
She continued: “But I don’t think you were prepared for what it will turn into for yourself. Seeing you challenge yourself day in, day out, overcome fears, open up, evolve and grow as a human has been beautiful to witness. To see you learn, become a dancer and enjoy it (eventually) made me very happy. To be there by your side and guide you through this – has been an honour.”
The dancer also commented on their journey on the show, declaring it had “not been an easy ride” before saying she’d miss “our banter, our jamming sessions, silliness, countless tea and biscuits breaks, conversations that always went too deep too early, and I will even miss your moaning and burping”.
Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday. Catch up now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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