Rhys Stephenson couldn't hide his emotion after he took to the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor for his Tango on Saturday evening's semi-final. The CBBC presenter, who was dancing along Nancy Xu, wowed the judges with his routine – but it was his message from his dad that sparked emotion.
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After receiving very high praise from Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke, the pair headed upstairs to see Claudia Winkleman who told viewers Rhys' entire family were in the audience except for his dad, who had a lovely message for his son via video link.
WATCH: Rhys Stephenson wows with epic Charleston
"Having a son like you is a dream of any parents," Rhys' father began, adding: "I'm happy, proud and blessed that you are my son. Good luck Rhys, I'm proud of you."
At which point, the Strictly contestant burst into tears and was embraced by his professional partner.
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Rhys told viewers what the words from the judges and his father meant: "It meant the world because it shows they're loving our partnership. It really has been like siblings, and then it grew into parent and child [laughs], but throughout there's always been love and there's always been teamwork."
Nancy added: "We're so grateful for all the support it means so much so thank you so much." The pair went on to receive a score of 39 from the judges.
The star's father had a special message for him
Later on, Rhys and Nancy will take on the Samba in a bid to make it through to next week's grand finale. The 28-year-old has had a rollercoaster of a time during his run on the show, topping the leaderboard twice, once with his Charleston and another with the Argentine Tango, but he has also ended up in the dreaded dance-off three times.
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His first time topping the leaderboard was historical, as it was the earliest that a Charleston had ever been given a perfect score since it was introduced to the competition.
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