Dame Sarah Storey exists Strictly Come Dancing
Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon have left Strictly Come Dancing after facing Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu in the dance off.
Dame Sarah Storey has been voted off Strictly Come Dancing.
The Paralympian and her professional partner Julian Caillon became the third couple to leave this year's competition after facing Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu in the dance off on Sunday (18.10.26).
After both couples performed their Icons Week routines again - with Sarah and Julian doing a tango to That Don't Impress Me Much and their rivals performing a Cha Cha to Respect - judges Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse all chose to save Bethany and Nancy. Head Judge Shirley Ballas, who had this week's deciding vote, confirmed she'd have followed the rest of the panel if she had been required to vote.
Anton noted they were evenly matched technically, but he ultimately felt Bethany and Nancy gave a "better performance", while Craig felt their "musicality" gave them the "edge" over Sarah and Julian. Motsi praised both couples for improving on their performance on Saturday (17.10.26) night but she ultimately cast her vote according to those who had been "technically" better.
Speaking after the result, Sarah paid tribute to "incredible" Julian and her Strictly experience.
She said: "I've had the most amazing teacher, which has been the biggest blessing. Getting to learn different dances is something I never have done or thought I could do, so I'm really proud to have had a few weeks learning from this incredible chap and I've enjoyed every minute of it."
Julian praised his partner's work ethic and commitment.
He said: "Committed is the perfect worsd, since I met Sarah, once you get to know her, you really understand why she is the GOAT. She is so hard-working, so dedicated, I've never seen such... absolute commitment and hard work to the process. She's tough on herself because she expects the best because she is the best.
"I've been so impressed by [her] work ethic and I've had an absolute blast. I'm so glad you got to do that, you're amazing, you can dance and I need you to know that."
She replied: "Thank you for dealing with my perfectionism, I wasn't always the best dancer or the best person in the training room, sometimes I got in my head but you always believed I could do something better and every Saturday I always did the best dance of the week."
The results show featured a tribute to Madonna from the professional dancers, and Belles performed Dolly Parton's Jolene while Amy Dowden and Kai Widdrington danced.
