BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shayne Ward shares reality after exit as actress partner pays tribute

Shayne Ward has given a glimpse at what his life currently looks like following his exit from Strictly Come Dancing. There was outrage among fans of the hit dance show last weekend as he became the seventh celebrity to leave the BBC One contest.

Singer and actor Shayne landed in the dreaded dance-off for a third time this series with his professional dance partner Nancy Xu during week eight of the 2024 run, and this time they faced Wynne Evans and Katya Jones in a battle for their place in the competition.

The last results show on Sunday night (November 10) results show saw both couples having to re-perform their latest routines, with Shayne and Nancy reprising their rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper before Wynne and Katya took to the dance floor again with their American Smooth to Grace Kelly by MIKA.

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After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts: Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Shayne and Nancy, as did Motsi, while Anton Du Beke chose to save Wynne and Katya. With two votes in favour of Shayne and Nancy, the decision came down to head judge Shirley, who decided to save Wynne and Katya.

It meant that Shayne heartbreakingly missed out on place in the upcoming Blackpool special, which sees the remaining couples perform in the town's iconic Tower Ballroom, after wanting to get through to the annual spectacle so he mum could come and watch him dance for the first time.

When Fleur East questioned Shayne on the BBC Two's spin-off show, It Takes Two, on Monday (November 11), Shayne admitted that the moment the red light indicated they were in the dance-off on Sunday night, he sensed "this was it".

The former X Factor winner said: "I always get lost in the moment with Nancy. Even though she's shouting all the moves to me, she's so graceful. What I loved about it was the song, and I loved the sentiment of the story that we were trying to tell. But more than anything, what stands out for me was the connection we had, not just through that song, but through the whole eight weeks we got to spend together."

But Shayne has been seen getting back into the swing of his usual routine and took to his Instagram Story with a video in which he could be seen walking down the street with a coffee in hand a brush over his shoulder. Captioning the post, he wrote: "Back to dad jobs: Drop kids to school, buy yard brash, oat latte for @sophieaustin84," before adding a crying laughing emoji.

Shayne's actress fiancee Sophie Austin has since spoken out on Shayne and Nancys exit from Strictly. She wrote in a gushing post on Instagram: "To my dear shayne and Nancy , my team , my rockstars, my loves

"These past three months have been a roller coaster of ups and downs and everything in between but within that has been moments of pure beautiful spellbinding magic . @shaynetward my best friend and my love , proud doesn’t even come close to how I feel about you , your work ethic , your kindness , your generosity for others , your respect and your love for everything makes me so so unbelievably in awe of you and feel so lucky everyday to be a part of every single one of your journeys . Thankyou for always putting your heart and soul into everything and even when times get tough you always always keep going, you dust yourself off and rise every single time . I know you had so much more to give and your time was cut way too short but be proud bubba , be so darn proud , because me and the kids are ,beyond belief!"

"@nancy_xuxi you beautiful amazing friend , Thankyou for being with shayne through this , Thankyou for believing in him when at times he didn’t believe in himself . Thankyou for being so generous with your talent , for your kindness , your support , love and for making this experience the most amazing one for not just shayne but all of us . You truly are a shining star that deserves the world and more . A bond was made and will last a lifetime, and I can’t wait for more memories to be made."

The former Hollyoaks star added: "To all the pro dancers you guys are beyond anything I have witnessed! You really are an unbelievable force of talent and the way you guys champion everyone in that ballroom is something I feel so grateful to of witnessed. You really can feel the love in that room and Thankyou for that . You guys are what @bbcstrictly is about!

"To all the contestants, you guys rock ! The friendship and love you guys have for each other was so special and it really was gutting to see anyone go each week , but you are all amazing, learning those routines in a week and coming out performing like true champions was phenomenal. Keep smashing it. And dearest @williamsonholmes @hugohharrison and Jackie you went above and beyond throughout this journey and I love you guys so so much."