Harry Aikines-Aryeetey has become the sixth celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing. After landing in the dreaded dance-off against La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec, the former Olympic sprinter and his partner, Karen Hauer, were forced to wave goodbye to the competition in Sunday’s results show.
Prior to their exit, the duo had performed their Samba to ‘Samba’ by Gloria Estefan. Following the judges’ unanimous decision to save La Voix, however, Aikines-Aryeetey and Hauer headed over to presenter Tess Daly, where they reflected on their Strictly journey.
“I think, first things, I just want to thank Karen, genuinely, you have given me an opportunity to shine,” Aikines-Aryeetey said. “You’ve understood my crazy brain. I’m such a logical person, trying to dance – and obviously doing what I do – Olympic sprinter, Gladiator – now I’m trying to be a dancer.
“I just want to thank you so much for the time and effort, the hard work that you’ve given to me. You show up, you turn out. I want to thank everyone here. Literally, this has been a dream come true. This is a celebration. It’s a celebration.
“I spoke to my daughter and she didn’t like seeing her dad sad, and when she saw me sad last week, she was like, ‘Daddy what’s wrong?’ and I wanted to show everyone that, no matter what happens, there’s always a silver lining,” he continued.
Photographer: – BBC
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“But this is an experience for me. So, thank you for this lovely gift, and at the end of the day, we carry on, we give it to them, and we continue to shine. Do you know what I mean?”
In an emotional moment, Hauer praised Aikines-Aryeetey for coming so far in the competition. “I am extremely proud. We’ve had the best time,” she said.
Photographer: – BBC
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“You’re such a gentleman, you’re a hard worker, you listen, and you get into those times where I don’t know what you were thinking, but you know what? I loved you in every kind of way because of the person that you are, and it was an honour to teach you, so thank you so much.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are also available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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