Jockey Dunwoody unseated as Strictly judges vote for Corrie star

Published on Saturday 26 September 2009 23:56

RICHARD Dunwoody cantered off the dancefloor last night when he became the second celebrity to be booted off Strictly Come Dancing.

The former jockey, who smiled the whole way through the performance, said the experience had been "tremendous". Dunwoody, right, took on Coronation Street star Craig Kelly in the dance-off after they scored the two lowest marks when the judges' scores were combined with viewers' votes.

Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon all voted to save Kelly, although head judge Len Goodman said he had planned to vote for Dunwoody.

The jockey, who twice won the Grand National, said: "It's been an unbelievable experience."

He said partner Lilia Kopylova had done a "tremendous job". She described Dunwoody as "by far the most hard-working partner I have had" even though dancing did not come easily to him. "And finally I'm going to learn how to ride horses," she said. Dunwoody follows tennis star Martina Hingis out of the competition.

The seventh series has been overshadowed by controversy about the judging panel. Complaints to the BBC about the decision to axe veteran choreographer Arlene Phillips totalled 4,220 on Friday, with 1,093 complaints about her replacement, Dixon.