Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor apologised during Sunday's results show for becoming emotional following his moving dance routine on Saturday night.
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The Two Pints of Lager actor had viewers reaching for the tissues following his and Nancy Xu's incredible Waltz to Three Times a Lady by the Commodores, a song that his late dad used to sing to his mum.
WATCH: Will Mellor pays emotional tribute to his mum
After congratulating Will on scoring his first tens for the routine, host Claudia Winkleman remarked that it was an emotional night for him, to which he replied: "Yeah, sorry about that," before going on to say that he was "over the moon" about making it through to the Blackpool show next week.
During Saturday night's programme, Will became tearful after performing the stunning dance. He told Claudia while awaiting the judges' scores: "I just can't talk at the moment, sorry."
His dance partner, Nancy, added that the pair were dedicating their dance to anyone who "lost their loved ones and didn't get a chance to say goodbye".
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Will spoke about the emotional meaning behind the song during an appearance on Loose Women on Thursday. "It's been a tough week," Will admitted. "It's one of my dad's favourite songs. He used to sing it to my mum.
© Photo: BBCWill held back tears during Saturday's show
"I spoke to my mum the other day and I just couldn't get through Monday without crying. It was just so hard. It's weird because when you lose somebody, you think grief is gone and then something happens and it grabs you. I couldn't even talk. So we lost a lot on Monday because I couldn't concentrate."
Will's father, Bill Mellor, died within two weeks of being diagnosed with cancer in 2020. Speaking to HELLO! and other journalists earlier this year about his reasons for joining Strictly, the Broadchurch actor revealed that losing his dad prompted him to sign up.
"I have been asked [to do the show] before and it scared me," he explained. "Doing anything like this scared me. I was worried it would have a negative impact on my acting career and then I lost my dad in 2020 and my mindset completely changed.
© Photo: RexWill with his father, Bill, in 2010
"I just thought you've got to grab life. You've got to do things and I'm going to say yes to more stuff and create memories and that really is what life's about. And you realise that when you start losing people and that this is what life's about."
He added: "I'd rather look back and think I'm glad I did that rather than I should have done that."
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