BBC Strictly star addresses 'undermarking' after shock exit as show first revealed

Strictly pro speaks about being in her first dance-off

Strictly Come Dancing stars Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas have opened up about their emotional departure from the show in their very first interview since their elimination on It Takes Two.

The weekend saw a poignant moment during the results show when EastEnders star Jamie, 30, and pro dancer Michelle, 29, were pitted against Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe in a tense dance-off. The couple left the competition after the judges decided to save Montell and Johannes unanimously.

Appearing on It Takes Two with host Fleur East on Monday night, Michelle touched upon experiencing a particularly significant 'first' following their exit from the show.

Interviewer Fleur, aged 37, raised the subject of it being their initial time in the dance-off, stating: "It was the first time though that you faced the dreaded dance-off and your face said it all... talk us through the thoughts running through your mind at this moment."

Jamie conceded with candid reflection: "Oh well it's part of the Strictly experience, being top of the leaderboard, bottom of the leaderboard, dance-off, it was like we get to dance it again, let's go!" reports the Mirror.

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Strictly Come Dancing duo Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas appeared in their first exit interview (Image: BBC)

Michelle then revealed her personal milestone, elaborating: "I've never been in a dance-off either so for me it was an experience as well that I wanted to go through. We did it, we enjoyed it, we've got the whole package now!"

Later in the programme, host Fleur turned to the audience's opinions, highlighting that many felt the pair had been undermarked throughout the show. Fleur remarked: "Despite the nine from Anton [Du Beke], viewers believe you were really undermarked not just on the weekend but during the whole competition, they had a lot to say."

EastEnders actor Jamie has made his Strictly exit (Image: BBC) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241119.min.js" SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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She then shared some of the public's reactions, reading out comments such as one fan's message: "the judges are too harsh on Jamie that was genuinely amazing, I don't know why that didn't reflect in the scores" and another viewer's opinion that "he has not been given fair markings compared to the others."

Jamie and Michelle reacted with expressive faces, with Michelle commenting: "You know what, I think when we peaked with our Paso [Doble], they were expecting technical perfection with each dance which I understand as the Paso was such a big moment.

"But it is difficult to achieve, especially with your busy schedule and everything. We did our best, you did your best and one thing I know, and I can say for sure, is that we genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. Every single moment and that's what it's about. Even when the pressures were high and we were stressed, we still enjoyed it."

Strictly It Takes Two is on BBC Two weekdays at 6.30pm and on BBC iPlayer