Judge Robert Rinder has risked his own safety to help rescue the grandparents of his Strictly pro partner.
The criminal barrister, who was partnered with Ukrainian dancer Oksana Platero in the 2016 series, selflessly flew out to the Polish border with Ukraine to make contact with her elderly loved ones.
Oksana said her three grandparents, aged between 75 and 95-years-old, were initially turned away at the border because they were being driven by her 56-year-old uncle - but Rob vowed to do everything he could to help.
After a worrying few days, the legal eagle was finally reunited with Oksana's grandparents in Poland - and said her 95-year-old grandma had made it all the way without food, medical supplies or a wheelchair.
"It's been such a gift to be able to give something back to Oksana - as silly as it is against this background - there was such joy in Strictly and I loved every bit of it," explained Rob.
"Then I discovered that her family were trying to flee Ukraine, avoiding shelling and managed to cross the border a couple of days ago."
Oksana only appeared on one series of Strictly, having joined after appearing on US version Dancing with the Stars for five seasons, so Judge Rinder was her only ever celeb partner.
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The Ukrainian dancer joined at the same time as current show favourites Katya Jones and Gorka Marquez.
Oksana was tough with Rob during training but they formed an incredible bond during their months together in the practise room.
They spent six hours a day rehearsing and the legal eagle referred to his pro partner as "boginya", which is Russian for goddess.
He told the Daily Star : "You don't want to get on the wrong side of her. She is a force of nature and very strict."
Oksana has also worked as a choreographer on US TV show So You Think You Can Dance and married show choreographer Jonathan Platero.
And the couple did speak about the infamous Strictly 'curse', admitting to The Sun : "I came across the curse on social media and it has been spoken about."
"Genuinely, when two professional dancers dance they look at it more like work.
"But when you have one professional and the other person who is not a dancer, for that person it feels a lot more intimate and special than for the professional."
Rob, who was married to ex-partner Seth Cummins at the time, jokingly added: "The curse would have to be very, very powerful, but you never know."
Their Strictly journey ended at the quarter finals as they finished in fifth place - and in June the following year it was announced that Oksana would not be returning for a second series.
"I had an unforgettable time working alongside such amazing dancers and an even better time with Judge Rinder," she said at the time.
"It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I will never forget it. Thank you so much for the memories."
Many people were surprised last week when Rob revealed he was travelling to the Ukrainian border to bring Oksana's grandparents to safety.
They were some of the two million Ukrainians fleeing the war torn country in the middle of the Russian invasion.
Revealing his plan on social media, the ITV star tweeted: "Oksana Platero my Ukrainian dance partner on @bbcstrictly gifted me so much. Right now her grandparents are a week into their struggle to find sanctuary in a safe country.
"I’ll be trying to meet them on the border next week. They’re just a few of the millions who need us."
Oksana pleaded for their safety and claimed they had been turned around at the border because her 57-year-old uncle wasn't allowed to leave.
Speaking on talkRADIO, she said: "I spoke with them several hours ago, they were on the border. They were trying to cross. But they were turned around because my uncle who is the driver of the car that they are in and he is helping with them with everything you know - its three grandparents ages between 75 and 90 years old, two of them cannot walk at all.
"He’s the only one who can physically help him. Without him they can’t make it. From what I understand, they were turned around because he’s not 60 years old yet. He’s 57, you know, he has big leg injury himself. But without him they will not make it."
There was amazing news on Monday when Judge Rinder announced that Oksana's grandparents had finally escaped Ukraine.
Sharing a photo of them sitting in a field, he wrote: "Oksana’s grandma is 95. She spent a week fleeing Russian shelling & FINALLY crossed the Polish border with no wheelchair, food or medical supplies but she is resolute & strong.
"She remembers the last war & knows that ultimately they will return home and Tyranny will fail."
Oksana has explained how thankful she is that her grandparents have escaped from their war torn home country.
Speaking on GMB earlier this week from Florida, the former Strictly pro said she is "very grateful" to Rob for travelling to the Ukraine border to help her loved ones.
"They are now safe in a south west village in Poland and Rob is working on getting them the medication that they need and I'm very grateful for that," she said.
The dancer also told viewers that her grandparents had initially insisted they would stay in Ukraine but realised it had become too dangerous.
"I think that's the story for most elderly people, they don't know life outside their homes or their country and the idea to leave the country is not something they were willing to consider," she said.
"My grandma had her cat and her house and she just said, 'Doesn't matter what happens I'm not leaving.'
"And it wasn't until the neighbours house was bombed and the neighbours roof landed in her backyard. That was enough for her to decide that she needs to go."
Now Rob is desperately hunting for a wheelchair to give to Oksana's grandmother, who also doesn't have her medication.
Speaking on today's This Morning from the Polish border to Ukraine, he explained: "This is a story that illustrates the situation people find themselves in. The 95-year-old grandma doesn't have a wheelchair, so we have to source that. They don't have their medication.
"Hopefully, we're going to get hold of as much as we can and finally go and reunite them with he stuff they need tomorrow morning."
Rob has also urged the UK government to “cut the red tape” for Ukrainian refugees at the Polish border while speaking from Przemsyl station in Poland.
While praising the thousands of British people who want to house refugees and help in any way they can, he argued that the UK government needs to make the process much easier.
"All it needs is administrative help on the ground," he explained live on GMB. "There’s so much charity but it’s not enough."
"People should know what happened in the past or we’re doomed to repeat it. It is repeating itself. It’s hard to believe this is 2022. The trains arrive infrequently, when they do, it is women, it is children, it is babies in mothers’ arms. They arrive cheek to jowl, a sea of humanity, often with just one suitcase or the clothes on their back."
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