Danny Mac has responded to claims which suggest he has had an advantage over his Strictly Come Dancing competitors because of his arts background. The Hollyoaks star - who has appeared in West End musicals Les Miserables and Wicked - has brushed off the suggestion, claiming its "disrespectful" to his dance partner Oti Mabuse.
"Everyone has an opinion of my dance experience but I'm not sure what they mean," he said at the Strictly final press conference this week. "My full background was three years at drama school - never before and never since. The thing that bothers me the most is that I came into this competition - and anything I have achieved - the credit is taking everything away from Oti and that wouldn't be fair.
"It's 100 per cent down to her. I was never going to be a dancer, I was never dancing – it was just a part of my training at drama school. But if people want to believe that because they don't want to vote for me, then so be it – there's nothing I can really do about it. Everything that I have achieved on that show is down to this girl [Oti] next to me."
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
Strictly's Danny Mac has responded to claims which suggest he has had an "advantage"
The 28-year-old - who is engaged to former Hollyoaks star Carley Stenson - had nothing but praise for his dance partner Oti. Speaking about his most memorable experience, he confessed: "The best moment would be our samba and getting that score - it was the first time that everything went as good as it could possibly get.
"It was the first time we went out and Oti said, 'Look, there's no story in this, you're not a character. This routine is you and me going out there and having a party.' For the dance to do so well was very important because that was what I was most terrified about. To be myself on that night and with Oti's favourite song and her favourite style – it just cemented everything."
"Everything that I have achieved on that show is down to Oti," he said
Danny and Oti will be competing against Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton, and Ore Oduba and Kevin's sister Joanne Clifton for the renowned glitterball.
The Strictly Final is on Saturday at 6.35pm on BBC One, with the results show at 9pm.