Jaime Winstone Calls Strictly Dance-Off a “Horrific Feeling”
Said her first dance-off on Strictly Come Dancing was a horrific experience after she and partner Carlos Gu landed in the bottom two. The judges unanimously…
Jaime Winstone has described her first Strictly Come Dancing dance-off as a “horrific feeling” after she and professional partner Carlos Gu fell into the bottom two. The judges unanimously saved the pair, but Winstone said the results show left her with a tough and emotional experience.
The actor spoke about the dance-off in her first interview after the results show aired, on the companion programme It Takes Two. Their opponents were celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton and his professional partner Amy Dowden, who were eliminated after the judges chose to save Winstone and Gu.
It was a difficult moment. Winstone said the fast pace of the competition and performing in front of cameras had left her feeling exposed.
“It is at such a fast pace, and I am not used to being so vulnerable on camera,” she said. Winstone added that the experience brought back feelings of being a child at school who did not fit in, before reflecting that the qualities that make someone stand out can also be among their greatest strengths.
Winstone calls the dance-off personal growth
The couple had fallen around the middle of the judges' leaderboard for their first two routines of the series over the weekend. They then failed to secure enough public votes to avoid the bottom two, setting up the dance-off against Appleton and Dowden.
Winstone said the performance became a moment of personal growth, which she intends to take into the rest of the contest. She also reflected on how contestants respond to a setback.
“It is not how you fall, it's how you get yourself up again,” she said.
The judges' unanimous decision kept Winstone and Gu in the competition, while Appleton and Dowden left the series. The result gives Winstone a chance to continue, but her account points to the pressure that can accompany a dance-off: public votes decide who faces the judges, and the final choice can send a couple home.
Appleton and Dowden have also spoken about their experience on the series since their elimination. Appleton wrote on Instagram earlier this week that he remained afraid of dancing, but felt differently when he was with Dowden. He described shaking hands and a racing heart as he worried about forgetting the routine in front of the audience.
He credited Dowden with helping him believe in himself and perform despite those nerves. Dowden, meanwhile, said she was gutted to be the first professional dancer eliminated for the second year in a row.
During the Sunday night results show, Dowden told Appleton that her heartbreak came from losing the chance to dance with him on Monday, but said she had gained a friend for life. Her comments offered a glimpse of the personal bond formed during the competition, even as the result ended their run.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night at 8.15pm on BBC One.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
