Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks expressed his heartfelt thanks to the show's fans in Sunday night's results show following an emotional admission.
On Saturday, Pete, 36, and his pro dance colleague Jowita Przystal ended up at the low end of the score table with just 22 points after their salsa routine, set to the track Another One Bites The Dust, failed to win the judges' favour.
As their performance came to an end, viewers saw the duo in a close embrace, with Pete, donned in an outfit paying homage to Freddie Mercury, repeatedly murmuring "sorry" as Jowita tried to console him.
After listening to the judge's critiques, which pointed out a few slip-ups, Pete shared his thoughts with host Claudia Winkleman regarding his Queen-inspired display, remarking: "It was definitely an honour, I think it's an ironic song for me tonight, another one bites the dust."
Despite not delivering on the night, Pete along with Jowita were given a pass by the audience in Sunday's results show. Commenting to Claudia post-announcement, Pete confessed, accordin
g to the Mirror: "I can't believe I'm still here and part of me feels like I probably don't deserve to be here! " but Claudia was quick to reassure him with "No, no, no, no! " Pete carried on saying: "Thank you, genuinely, thank you everyone. I am so happy to still be here!"
Strictly fans swarmed Twitter to back Pete after one user posted: "Pete is such a sweetheart thinking that he doesn't deserve to stay on the show. He absolutely does. #Strictly". Another supporter chimed in with: "I don't deserve to be here. Ohhh Pete you are popular and your personality shines through your dancing #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly", supplemented by tearful emojis, while an additional fan stated: "You can tell that Pete loves this show now #Strictly."
This comes as Sam Quek and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin were voted out of Strictly Come Dancing after becoming the sixth pair eliminated from the beloved BBC One competition on Sunday evening.
On the results show, sportswoman Sam, aged 36, and her partner Nikita, aged 26, ended up battling it out in the tense dance-off against Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe.
To convince the judges, both couples had to dance their hearts out once more: Sam and Nikita delivered their rendition of the American Smooth to Taylor Swift's Love Story, whereas Montell and Johannes offered an elegant Waltz set to Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.
In the end, following repeat performances, it was time for the judges to make their decision. Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all cast their votes to rescue Montell and Johannes.
With three nods in favour of Montell and Johannes, they snagged the majority verdict, signalling the curtain call for Sam and Nikita's journey on the show. Chief Judge Shirley Ballas agreed with her fellow judges, conceding she would've made the same choice to save Montell and Johannes.
