BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Will Mellor wiped away tears after he was given a special surprise on Strictly - It Takes Two tonight.
The Stockport-born actor became the latest to be axed from the show with partner Nancy Xu after his Paso Doble and Couple's Choice dances saw him narrowly miss out on a place in next week's final.
Appearing on the bonus show on BBC 2 after his elimination this evening, Will was overcome with emotion but couldn't hold back his tears when he received a video message from his beloved wife and children.
Will looked tearful as wife Michelle beamed with pride in her recorded message. "My pride for Will doing Strictly is...it's off the Richter scale," she said. "I'm on this journey with him. It has been amazing to watch."
Children Renee and Jayde said dad Will had 'exceeded' their expectations as they spoke to him through the screen. "You have blown me away," Renee added. "I'm very proud of him. He's done very well to get as far as he has got."
Nancy was emotional as she thanked Will for the 'best journey' on the show. "I've looked forward to stepping in the dance studio every day just to teach him new dances, to see his face, to see him not believe in himself, question himself, and then slowly start to enjoy," she said.
"I have had such an amazing journey with him," she added as Will pulled her in for a hug before calling her 'amazing.
"I wouldn't have wanted to do this with anybody else," he said. "It was an unbelieveable ride. We've created some amazing moments we can look back on. Thank you so much to Strictly for giving me the memories for my mum and my family and my sisters and my kids."
His voice started to break as he mentioned wife Michelle, who he said had been 'by my side' every step of the way.
"Every time I come home moaning and aching, she's running my bath for me, and without her and this lady next to me this would have been really tough. I wouldn't have got anywhere near this so thanks for the memories and the moments and I am going to take from this that you can do things, you can test yourself, you can go out of your comnfort zone and achieve more than you think."
The remaining four couples will take to the dancefloor for the final time as they bid to lift the Glitterball Trophy when Strictly Come Dancing: The Final will air live on Saturday 17th December at 7.15pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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