Strictly's Dan Walker sent home as 10th celebrity exits the BBC dancefloor

Walker, 44, was sent home from the BBC One series after his quarter-finals tango with partner Nadiya Bychkova failed to earn him a spot in the semi-finals next weekend.

He and Bychkova landed in the dance-off against AJ Odudu and her partner Kai Widdrington, who went on to receive the majority vote from the judging panel for their salsa, keeping them in the competition.

Following his elimination, Walker told Strictly presenter Tess Daly: “The last 11 weeks have been absolutely amazing, I’ve genuinely loved every second of it.

“When I go back to the first day when I was asked to dance in front of some glitter balls, at that point, if there had been a fire exit, I’d have just walked away.”

He paid tribute to his professional dance partner, saying: “I’m not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance, and that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience.

Four couples – TV presenter Odudu and Widdrington; EastEnders actress Rose-Ayling Ellis and Giovanni Pernice; Bake Off winner John Whaite and Johannes Radebe; and CCBC host Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu – remain in the competition for the semi-finals.

The semi-final airs on December 11 at 7.05pm with the results on December 12 at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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