Nigel Harman has addressed his reaction to last weekend's scores following his and Katya Jones's Quickstep after a number of fans shared their concerns for the actor.
After taking on the fast-paced routine, Harman was awarded a respectable 31 from the judges but it placed him second-bottom of the Blackpool Week leaderboard, only beating Angela Rippon.
When he and Jones stopped to listen to the judges' verdict, all four pointed out a series of "mistakes" Harman had made during the routine, which appeared to take the wind out of the star.
Even Claudia Winkleman quipped he looked like he needed a "cuddle" after hearing the critique.
Concerns were only heightened when a clip emerged on social media that appeared to show Harman walking off the Strictly dancefloor before anyone else as soon as the credits had rolled on the episode.
Luckily for the Casualty star, he avoided the dance-off at the expense of Rippon and Bobby Brazier, with the former leaving pro partner Kai Widdrington in tears as she bid farewell.
Harman has now addressed his Blackpool Week routine and explained why he felt so "disappointed" after putting all his effort into the dance.
Nigel Harman was visibly disappointed with the Quickstep
BBCAfter watching the routine back, Harman said: "Did Craig just say, 'I love you'? I didn't pick up on that."
Turning his attention back to the dance, he continued: "It's so brilliant on the Blackpool floor, it's like a gift! It's so big and it's bouncy, and the crowd are so present and with you but it's so vast. I loved every second of it.
"It's actually the best I think I've danced on the show... and then I made some mistakes," he admitted.
"But putting that aside, it's the most I've enjoyed it and we had such a good time which is why, when I made a mistake, afterwards it's so disappointing.
WATCH NOW: Nigel Harman addresses 'disappointing' reaction to Quickstep
"You're like, 'We've done all that work and it was so good!' But if I sort of park that, the rest was just fantastic."
Jones then weighed in during their It Takes Two interview to echo her celeb partner's words as she said: "I know exactly what you mean because you really felt present when you start it.
"I felt you really pushed it a bit more than normal and that's a positive thing, you know, and it happens when you take it to the next level, the excitement and everything pushes you a little bit further.
"So I took this definitely as the best he's been on the show."
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Nigel Harman and Katya Jones appeared on It Takes Two
BBC
Jones went on to admit she "couldn't tell immediately that things went wrong" after the routine but after watching it back did concede there were "a couple of mishaps".
Harman and Jones will be hoping to avoid any similar slip-ups in Week 10, although the routine they've been given has left some fans fearing they could face the dance-off for the first time.
The duo will be tackling the Rumba to Celine Dion classic It's All Coming Back To Me Now.
The Rumba is a notoriously tricky routine for male celebs and fans already correctly predicted it would be Adam Thomas's downfall earlier this series.
But will Harman be able to prove doubters wrong and rocket back up the leaderboard on Saturday evening?
