Strictly fans 'uncomfortable' as Nadiya gives Dan 'very special' thanks

Strictly Come Dancing's Dan Walker was overwhelmed on Monday night's Strictly It Takes Two after dance partner Nadiya Bychkova blew him away with an extremely emotional speech.

The BBC Breakfast lost out on Saturday night when he and Nadiya Bychkova went up against AJ Odudu and her dance partner Kai Widdrington and ultimately got sent home after the dance-off.

Dan Walker, from Sheffield, appeared on the It Takes Two sofa on Monday night alongside Nadiya - and nobody was expecting what she said to him.

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Host Rylan Clark started the interview in familiar territory, asking the pair about their time on the BBC dancing show.

He said: "We're so sad to see you go, let's talk about Saturday night because tango Dan, did you love it?"

Dan replied: "I've loved every dance we've done and each week has been my favourite. I told Nadiya on the Monday when she showed me the choreography, I said I already love it, I can't wait to dance it on Saturday. That was the best I've danced in my entire life, in front of 10 million people. It's a good way to go out."

Nadiya said: "It was my first tango on Strictly, definitely one to remember and I would say it was my best tango on Strictly. Number one!

"I absolutely loved it, I mean the way he improved and the way he performed on Saturday night, he didn't just dance that to the music, he was in the moment and for me it was beautiful, I loved it, I loved every moment of that tango, I loved the music, I loved the way we danced together, how much hard work he put in, and then to show that in front of millions of people, it was just beautiful."

Rylan then mentioned the judges' comments about 'a tale of two dances'.

Dan scored 7/8/9/7 from the judges which wasn't enough to save him from dropping into the bottom two and ultimately saying goodbye to the show.

Nadiya said: "It felt absolutely great, and then I watched it back and the positioning was perfect. I mean, I don't remember the last time I felt that comfortable in the ballroom position with someone the way I feel with him, it was beautiful. So I think it was the best performance, by far."

Rylan then told the pair: "This weekend your names were called out, that red light treatment fell on you guys. What was going through your mind Dan?"

Dan replied: "We did 10 weeks of the competition without ever being in the dance off. And having never danced before and been fearful of a dancefloor when I first started out, to get to week 11, we knew it was going to come at some stage because everyone in the competition's so good.

"The most important thing is, the best four dancers are in the semi-final. Overwhelmingly. I would have put AJ and Kai through as well because it is important, that it is an entertainment show but it's also a dancing competition. And they're the best and we've said that from the start but don't think anyone's had as much fun as us."

Then Nadiya had viewers welling up as she turned to Dan to deliver a special message which it appeared that even he was not expecting.

Nadiya added: "It was very special to me. I love teaching him but at the same time I learned so much from him."

She then turned to Dan and added: "You gave me the confidence in front of the camera and you gave me that environment for me where I felt safe and I felt free to be myself for the first time. Your friendship gave me wings to fly again. Thank you very much."

"Thank you for saying that," Dan added.

"That's the ultimate complliment that anyone could ever pay to me. If you can be a friend to somebody and make them feel that they can be themselves on TV, and you can turn me into something of a dancer on TV I think we've had a lovely impact on each other."

And Nadiya and Dan's moving interview had people in bits.

Victoria Dalton said: "All the tears for Dan & Nadiya’s farewell interview. They’re so bloody lovely.

Aly said: "That was lovely but at the same time slightly uncomfortable."

Kate said: "I find her relationship with Dan very strange I think she is slightly obsessed."

@Uisgebeatha said: "Is... is Nadiya OK?"

Jayne Barker said: "That was the BEST exit interview."

LouiseW said: "Nadiya & Dan on #ItTakesTwo are making me cry. So so lovely."

Burt Offerings sarcastically offered up: "I think Dan mentioned in that interview that he hadn’t danced before. Wow!"

Strictly Come Dancing returns on BBC1 on Saturday, December 11.

Strictly It Takes Two is back on BBC2 on Tuesday, December 7.