Television personality and former field hockey player Sam Quek said she was gutted after making a mistake during her and Strictly professional Nikita Kuzmin’s Quickstep.
Judging scores put the pair in ninth place on the leaderboard, but they managed to avoid Week Five’s dance-off.
Quek explained that she felt “genuinely gutted” to It Takes Two host Janette Manrara after her error forced them to be marked down.
The 36-year-old felt she and Kuzmin’s dance was “on point” in training and was therefore especially disappointed to not carry it off on the night.
However, she explained: “It’s just like life, mistakes happen, you get bumps in the road.”
“More often than not when you watch yourself back the mistake isn’t as big as it feels in the moment.”
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin on It Takes Two
BBC
Manrara judged that Quek is a “perfectionist” and asked Kuzmin if that attitude was key to success on Strictly.
“Yes and no” the Ukrainian responded.
Turning to his dance partner he said: “You do put a lot of pressure on yourself. You’re a natural competitor so we do sometimes need to remind ourselves it’s OK not to get everything right straight away.”
“Do you actually realise how much you have improved?”
Quek and Kuzmin’s Quickstep disappointed judges
BBC
Kuzmin said it was “fantastic to see” Quek’s “incredible” and “beautiful” development as a dancer.
On the night, judge Anton Du Beke said the pair was “so close” but “wasn’t quite magnificent”.
Fellow judge Motsi Mabuse said Quek’s performance was “a little miss today.”
Head judge Shirley Ballas consoled the couple, assuring them mistakes happen to even “the best world champions”.
Quek and Kuzmin’s Quickstep received a seven from Mabuse and Du Beke, with Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood lifting the six paddles, for a total of 26.
The pair admitted their anxiety entering the results show, with Kuzmin conceding: “Realistically we’re at the bottom (of the leaderboard).”
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Quek said they had “started having the conversation” about how to prepare for the dance-off.
Despite their low score, the voting public saw them avoid the dance-off and through to Halloween week.
On It Takes Two, the couple revealed they will dance a Jive set to the Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.