Axed Strictly Come Dancing star Jamie Borthwick comforted his dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas after she broke down in tears live on air. The EastEnders actor, 30, was the ninth star to be voted out of the competition when he landed in the dreaded dance-off.

Although the judges gave him good scores for his Foxtrot, the panel chose to save Gladiators athlete Montell Douglas, 38.

Strictly It Takes Two presenter Fleur East welcomed Jamie and Michelle onto the BBC spin-off show, where they reflected on their journey throughout the competition.

After the dancing duo were shown their best bits on the show on Monday night (November 25), Michelle fell into a hug with Jamie as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Jamie then turned to Fleur and asked: “Are you crying as well?”

Axed Strictly stars Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas appeared on It Takes Two (Image: BBC)

The teary-eyed host replied: “It’s emotional. You’ve got me emotional.”

It was Michelle’s first celebrity partner on the BBC show since she joined the lineup in 2022.

When quizzed about what she will miss most about working with Jamie, she tearfully uttered, “Everything.”

She went on: “We’ve just become best buddies. I’ll miss seeing his face in the morning, laughing all day and performing on stage. We had the best time.”

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Strictly stars Jamie Borthwick joined Michelle Tsiakkas who was in tears (Image: BBC)

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Strictly viewers saw tears roll down Michelle’s cheeks (Image: BBC)

Fleur read out angry messages from viewers who were fuming at his departure.

Many fans thought he was under-marked throughout the show, as one message read: “The judges are too harsh on Jamie. That was genuinely amazing. I don’t know why that didn’t reflect in the scores.”

They added: “He has not been given fair markings compared to the others.”

Despite winning the most recent Christmas edition of the long-running BBC dancing competition, Jamie bid a sad farewell on Sunday night following the results show.

It comes as viewers took to social media and fumed that the “wrong person” was sent home.

Many Strictly fans said Pete Wicks should have been sent home instead of Jamie.

One stated: “Pete Wicks seems like a nice enough chap but I can’t believe people are voting for him over Montell.”

“I love Pete, he’s a laugh and he’s trying and he’s what it’s about. But I’m sorry what the f**k,” raged a second fan.

Another said: “Seriously people please please stop voting for Pete enough is enough.”

A fourth mused: “They will not let Pete near the dance off.”

Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke, and Motsi Mabuse all chose to save Montell over the actor.