BBC Strictly Come Dancing has bid farewell to one of its stars after a heartfelt vow was made live on the show. Dr Punam Krishan, along with her professional dance partner Gorka Marquez, took their final dance on Sunday evening following an average score of 22 points.
As the lowest scorer remaining in the contest, and having lingered near the bottom of the leaderboard often escaping the dance-off, the departure didn’t come as a shock. Yet, Dr Punam’s exit was a poignant one as she spoke up post-elimination on Sunday’s episode with Tess Daly.
She said: “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.
“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.”
She also commented on the show: “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.”
Meanwhile, Gorka Marquez showed admiration for his partner’s journey: “I’m very proud of what she has achieved. […] 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.”, reports Birmingham Live.
He added: “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 responded: “Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for giving me the gift of dancing. I’ve never danced before, but 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.”
The remaining 10 pairings now pass the contest’s midway mark and move on to the seventh live show – a brand-new themed week celebrating “music icons across the decades”.