The 41 year old dazzled with a Tango to Eurythmics’ hit “Sweet Dreams” on Saturday night, scoring a 26 from the judges. However, despite her efforts, she found herself at the bottom of the leaderboard, sharing the precarious position with Chris McCausland.
Regrettably, her performance didn’t prevent her from facing the dance-off, where she went toe-to-toe with Shayne Ward and his partner Nancy Xu.
Once again, both duos showcased their Halloween-themed dances, leaving the decision in the hands of the judging panel.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke unanimously voted to keep Shayne and Nancy in the contest, with head judge Shirley Ballas concurring that she would have made the same choice.
Reflecting on her journey, Dr Punam expressed to Tess Daly: “I am really proud of myself. You know I’ve taken on something that’s so out of my comfort zone. The one thing that I’ve very much learnt is to say yes more, and that there is no point in your life when you can stop learning new skills”, reports the Express.
“I’ve learnt more than dancing, I’ve learnt so much from Gorka. Everyone’s been so incredible and it’s just memories that I’ll take home forever and I am very proud. I’ve made my family very proud, I’m just really grateful.”
Punam shed light on her family’s feelings, admitting with pride that they’re thrilled, and shared her longtime desire to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
She enthused: “My kids are so proud, my parents, my husband, everyone. This is just one of those things that I have dreamt about for years and I think to have one of your dreams genuinely come true is just a surreal feeling. Week after week it’s been incredible, I’ve made friends for life and everyone’s just been so kind, so thank you.”
Gorka was full of admiration for Punam during the competition, expressing his thoughts to Tess by saying: “She’s a GP and a Mum. She had never danced before and I think she improved week by week. I think she is truly what the show is about, someone who doesn’t have experience in the performance world came here and learnt to dance.”
He continued to lavish praise on his partner: “She wanted to do so well and worked so hard. Also I feel very proud and very honoured that we got to do a Bollywood dance, to represent your culture, show your culture to the world and open doors for so many people in your culture.”
Punam expressed her gratitude towards Gorka, noting her surprise at her own dance developments: “You’ve definitely sparked so much dancing. I want to learn more, and I definitely don’t think this will be the end of my journey dancing.”
With Punam’s departure, she joins the ranks of the eliminated stars such as Tom Dean, Toyah Willcox, Nick Knowles, and Paul Merson.
While another contestant has bid farewell, Jamie Borthwick and Sarah Hadland are leading the pack in the show, both earning a score of 38 for their performances, placing them at the top of the leaderboard.
During Sunday’s results programme, audiences were treated to a Beetlejuice-inspired routine by the professional dancers, with Carlos Gu embodying the legendary character. Regrettably, Amy Dowden was absent from the group performance due to unexpected circumstances.
In the coming week, the remaining ten pairs will return to the dance floor for the brand new icons-themed week.