Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden have kicked off the Strictly final with an impressive four tens – and his mum was in the audience to see it all! How sweet.
The fact that Karim thought that his mum might not make the final makes the moment all the more sentimental. In November, the CBBC star appeared in It Takes Two with dance partner Amy, and noted that he didn't want to see him mum in the audience during the final as she had previously been so distraught at seeing him in the bottom two.
The comments came after Karim appeared in the bottom two, following his contemporary routine, performed to Drops of Jupiter as a tribute to his mum and sister. Rylan Clark-Neal said to Karim: "Your mum, Carol," said host Rylan Clark-Neal. "Look at her face. My heart bleeds for Carol!"
Karim's mum could be seen in the audience
Rylan continued: "What was she like after the show?" To which Karim replied: "She doesn't want to come again. Literally, her words. She was like, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' But she was so proud." On his mum crying, he said: "I had to calm her down. Amy kept telling me to go see my mum and I was like, 'She's fine, we've got a dance to do! Let me get in my zone, she'll be fine.' I love her. She's my rock, and so is my sister. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for them."
MORE: Why Karim Zeroual's mum might not be in the Strictly finale audience
Karim and Amy gave an impressive performance
During their performance on 23 November, Karim and Amy topped the leaderboard with 38 points thanks to their couple's choice (contemporary). However, the following night, the pair found themselves in the dance-off alongside Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard. "I went out there, and it wasn't a performance. It was internal," continued Karim. The couple found themselves in the dance-off again during the semi-final on Saturday but were saved by the judges who sent home Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer. We can't wait to see how far the pair go on Saturday's final.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
