Strictly Come Dancing 2021 pro Nikita Kuzmin revealed on Strictly: It Takes Two that he agreed with the criticism his partner, Tilly Ramsay, received from the judges during their final performance last weekend.
Both Tilly and Nikita were on last night’s (Monday Nov. 29) episode of Strictly: It Takes Two where Nikita was asked if he agreed with their score of 30 for their Samba.
"I agree with this absolutely. Because Samba is the most difficult dance. Samba is a very difficult dance, you have a different body rhythm to your step rhythm; you have different actions, you have feet action, you have arms – so many things that you have to do.
"At the same time, you have to be sassy. You have to be all of the beautiful shimmy things that Tilly did. So yeah, unfortunately, I agree."
Nikita and Tilly were the latest couple to be eliminated from the competition in week 10 after they failed to dazzle the judges in the dance-off against Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu.
When it came to the judges decision to save one of the two couples, Craig Revel Horwood said, “Well on Saturday night, I gave both couples seven, so in my head they are equal. The dance off proved that they both improved enormously. Although, one was quite flashy and semi naked [Nikita’s shirt came off during their dance]. But, I’d like to save Rhys and Nancy.”
Last week, the judges were joined by West End star Cynthia Erivo, who was standing in for Motsi Mabuse while she isolated due to a Covid precaution. “This is really, really difficult. Both couples did beautifully but it just came down to the tiny details like the finish of the footwork. I’d like to save Rhys and Nancy,” she said.
Anton Du Beke also chose to save Rhys and Nancy, revealing, “It was a terrific dance off again. Tilly, as we’ve come to expect, put in a great performance. She’s an absolute fighter. But with slightly better technique and better quality, I’d like to save Rhys and Nancy.”
Tilly was grateful to her dance partner and thanked him immensely for making being on Strictly an amazing experience for her.
"I'd just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has made this an amazing, positive journey for me. From everyone here to backstage, wardrobe, make-up and camera crew. It's just been the most extraordinary time. I found out something about myself that I didn't know I could do, I didn't know I could dance and have fun like this.
“So a massive thank you and, obviously, a huge thank you to Nikita who has guided me out of my shell and has just made this the most amazing experience.
Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday at 6:40pm on BBC1. For full listings — see our TV guide.
