Strictly Come Dancing star Tony Adams has opened up following his shock departure from the dancefloor on Sunday night. The Arsenal footballing legend faced the dreaded dance-off with Kiss FM DJ Tyler West in the results show.
But as viewers waited to see the pair and their pro dance partners reprise their routines from Saturday night's live show, host Tess Daly announced that Tony had withdrawn from the BBC dance contest. She explained: “Due to an injury sustained on Saturday night, Tony is unable to take part in the dance off and has decided to withdraw from the competition. This means there will be no dance off tonight and Tyler and Dianne are through to Blackpool.”
Tony said about his time on Strictly: "Little did I know that I was going to learn a lot about myself in the process. I thought this 'journey' rubbish was nonsense, but my god the rollercoaster of emotion. I’ve got to be honest, it’s tough, physically it’s really tough out there, but dancing is really fantastic for you. Go out there and enjoy it and pick up new skills and explore."
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As fans reeled from the news, the 56-year-old took to Instagram to explain his decison to withdraw, saying: "There comes a point when you can no longer ignore medical advice, and very sadly my point came tonight."
Sharing a joyous photo of him being held aloft by his Strictly friends, he apologised to Tyler for not being able to perform the dance-off. "I’m sorry I couldn’t dance off against my beautiful friend @tylerwestt, but thank you thank you to ALL @bbcstrictly who made this into an unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilirating 8 weeks," he said in his heartfelt message.
He continued: "I will miss you all - an exceptionally kind cast and crew." And paying tribute to his celeb dance partner Katya Jones. "And just, well I have no words for @katyajones," he said. "She is my absolute rock, queen, nemesis, HERO. I love her to bits. Keep dancing."
Tony, who previously said suffering 'mental breakdown' six years ago led to his Strictly stint, added: "Tomorrow I’ll be getting the leaf blower out and back to normality. With sequins. Now always with sequins. @sixmhs @sportingchanceclinic #mentalhealth #comfortzone #addiction #savinglives."
On Wednesday Tony spoke on the Strictly spin-off It Takes Two about his 'worrying' hamstring injury. This weekened they jived to Land Of 1,000 Dances by Wilson Pickett and last week they danced the salsa to I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) by Pitbull.
As he was quizzed about the salsa by host Janette Manrara, Tony admitted he didn't have much practice because of injury. He also discussed how his painful hamstring was still affecting him as he learned his latest routine.
He said: "I actually got the hammystring that attached on the back there [pointing to his leg] and when I do kind of stretch it there I still feel a bit sore there now. It kind of went on Friday so it was like 'let's not do that' so we just did the dress rehearsal." Katya added: "It was worrying."
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