Tom Dean and Strictly Come Dancing partner Nadiya Bychkova appeared on BBC Two spin-off It Takes Two tonight (September 30), with the pair cutting a sombre figure after their elimination.
The couple became the first pair to exit the 2024 series after the judges decided to save Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones over them.
Nadiya appeared to fight back tears during her chat with It Takes Two host Fleur East. Tom, meanwhile, admitted that he was “gutted” and in “genuine shock” that his Strictly journey had been “cut short”.
Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova couldn’t hide their sadness over their Strictly exit (Credit: BBC)
Strictly news: Tom and Nadiya’s sombre exit chat
Talking to host Fleur East, Tom said: “I definitely wanted to go further in the competition. I’m gutted. There’s no two ways about it. I did give it my all. I loved every part of it – some people find the training really tough and just enjoy the shows or the other way round. But I loved it all and we trained really really hard together. There was no bit that I didn’t enjoy. So for it to get cut short like that was just gutting. It was genuine shock. I just wish I could’ve kept going.”
Asked how she was feeling, Nadiya fought back tears as she told Fleur: “Well… Very similar to what Tom just said. It was a shock and I’m absolutely gutted that I won’t get the chance to teach this wonderful man another dance.
“We had so many plans. I was really excited about Movie Week and what we could have done. I really love the show but being able to teach someone like Tom made me fall in love with the show even more. It was really, really special.”
Tom was seen comforting Nadiya on It Takes Two (Credit: BBC)
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