STRICTLY Come Dancing’s latest elimination saw a tear-jerking goodbye to Dr Punam Krishan.
The TV doctor, who was partnered with Gorka Márquez, said farewell to the show after falling into the dreaded dance-off on Halloween week.
Dr Punam said her goodbyes on the show[/caption]
The star thanked Gorka for giving her the ‘gift of dance’[/caption]
Dr Punam and Gorka were up against Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu in the dance off[/caption]
As the BBC competition continued, Dr Punam and Gorka were forced to go head-to-head with Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu to fight for their place in the show.
Re-performing their routines for the spooky-themed series, Punam and Gorka performed their Tango to Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, before Shayne and Nancy performed a Paso Doble to In The Hall of The Mountain King by Edvard Grieg.
The judges then decided unanimously to save Shayne and Nancy.
Speaking to Tess Daly after her elimination was confirmed, Dr Punam 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,” she said of her partner.
“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.”
Speaking of her time on the series, Dr Punam said: “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 also heaped praise on his partner, telling her: “It’s been incredible, it’s been a fantastic six weeks. I’m very proud of what she has achieved.
“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. She wanted to do so well and worked so hard.”
He also made a nod to their groundbreaking Bollywood performance from Movies Week two weeks ago, telling Tess: “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.”
The pair ended their goodbyes with Dr Punam saying: “Thank you. 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.”
During Sunday night’s results show, the professionals opened the evening with a Halloween-themed dance inspired by the movie Beetlejuice, with a live performance from Lady Blackbird.
Unfortunately, Amy Dowden was missing from the festivities, after collapsing backstage and being rushed to hospital after Saturday’s live show.
The pro dancer, who is partnered with JLS’s JB Gill, has just completed breast cancer treatment – was attended by paramedics at Elstree Studios before being transferred to hospital to be checked over.
Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The spooky show included live performances by Lady Blackbird[/caption]
Dr Punam said she was ‘proud of herself’ for her efforts[/caption]
