Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has shared her heartache after both she and her dance partner Karim Zeroual found themselves in the bottom two for the first time this weekend. After topping the leaderboard with their couple's choice (contemporary), which they performed to Drops Of Jupiter by With Confidence, the pair were in the dance-off alongside Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard - much to everyone's surprise!
© Photo: BBCAmy Dowden and Karim Zeroual found themselves in the dance-off
Sharing her thoughts, the professional dancer told her followers: "Emotional weekend for myself and lovely partner @karim__zeroual. Karim you couldn't have done anymore, you were YOU on that floor and I’m so proud. We challenged ourselves and pushed our limits this past week and I loved every second of it and again want to thank the creative and talented @lukas_mcfarlane and @amytomtom."
READ: Strictly's AJ Pritchard and Saffron Barker react to surprise elimination
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"Being in a dance-off is so tough and I’m so proud of your focus and emotional but determined performance," she added. "Thank you to the judges for saving us, we are so grateful to be back performing in the quarter-final. Musical special next weekend." Turning her attention towards AJ and Saffron, the pro dancer concluded: "It's so bittersweet, so sorry to see the beautiful @saffronbarker and @aj11ace leave the competition tonight. You guys brought so much fun and energy to the competition."
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On Saturday night, Karim and Amy achieved an almost perfect score of 38 out of a possible 40 points, while AJ and Saffron scored 26 points. Earlier on, Karim paid tribute to his mum and sister during his emotional contemporary routine, which saw Amy embody both of them in the dance. Wiping away his tears, Karim said: "My mum and sister are everything. Two strong women in my life. Amy represented that in the dance holding me up."
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