Graeme Swann has become the ninth celebrity to leave this year’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 39-year-old retired cricketer and his professional partner Oti Mabuse once again found themselves in the dreaded dance-off – this time against pop star Ashley Roberts and her partner Pasha Kovalev.
But, on this occasion, Graeme – who performed a Quickstep to ‘Sing Sing Sing’ by The Andrews Sisters – couldn’t do enough to retain his place on the BBC show.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Ashley and Pasha, describing the decision as a "no brainer".
And Darcey Bussell came to the same conclusion, saying: "The couple I would like to save based on this dance is the more technically efficient performance and that was Ashley and Pasha."
Fellow judge Bruno Tonioli also chose to save Ashley and Pasha.
He said to Graeme: "No disrespect but it’s evident. Overall much much stronger on every level, come on, it’s Ashley. Ashley and Pasha."
Despite his disappointment, Graeme insisted he’d relished his time on ‘Strictly’, thanking Oti for helping him to "fall in love" with dancing.
He shared: "This show and what you’ve got is something special and thank you for letting me be a part of it.
"Secretly I’ve had 25 years of ballroom experience but I kept that to myself! No, I was a novice coming in to this.
"This woman Oti is … this girl, sorry … she’s not old enough to be a woman obviously, has just made me fall in love with this whole dance nonsense that I thought it was before. I absolutely adore you for that."
Graeme Swann leaves Strictly Come Dancing
