Rhys and Nancy say goodbye in the Semi-Final
They've brought fun, joy and energy to the Ballroom every week, but sadly Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu have bowed out of the competition in the Semi-Final, narrowly missing out on next week's Grand Final.
The pair made it through 12 amazing weeks, performing two brilliant routines last night: a Samba and a Tango. However, they finished bottom of the leaderboard and once their score was combined with the public vote, Rhys and Nancy found themselves in the dreaded Dance Off.
They chose to perform their Samba again, going up against John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, who opted to perform their Jive. Then it was over to the Judges to make the final call.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood expressed how difficult the decision was, saying: "In all the years I’ve been doing the show since 2004, I really do not want to make this decision tonight. This has been one of the most amazing Dance Offs I’ve ever witnessed. Both couples are equal and both couples deserve to go through and I just want to put both couples through. I know I’m not allowed to do that so I have to choose. I’m going on the technical side and it’s to do with clean finishes. I’d like to put through to the final, John and Johannes."
All the Judges agreed with Craig, sending Rhys and Nancy on their way one week short of the Final.
When asked by Tess about their time on the show, Rhys said: "I might not have gotten to the Final, but I learnt so much from just being on this show, from everyone here who’s just supported us in this new family. To have the time to spend with this champion of a dancer [Nancy] who’s put so much into me. Thank you for just letting my energy shine. Thank you for being that partner. I should use your actual name which is Xu YouJie. Thank you so much Nancy Xu YouJie, for just being there, being my rock and everything I needed to get through this. Thank you."
Nancy responded to his kind words, adding: "First I want to say a massive thank you to everyone in the show for supporting us from the very beginning. You’ve become stronger and stronger every week. And thank you [Rhys] for being an amazing dancer partner. My first year, it has been absolutely epic."
Rhys and Nancy performed so many fabulous routines across the series and we're really going to miss them! Catch them together for the final time on tomorrow's It Takes Two at 6.30pm on 成人论坛 Two.