Catherine Tyldesley has said her Strictly Come Dancing exit was like a “divorce”.
The former Coronation Street star and her professional partner Johannes Radebe were eliminated on Sunday after a dance-off against Mike Bushell and Katya Jones, in a decision which some viewers branded “ridiculous”.
Speaking on spin-off It Takes Two, the actress said she was “gutted” to have got the boot but that the best thing to have come out of the experience was her friendship with Radebe.
“I feel like I have gone through a divorce and I’ve got custody of Jo Jo,” she said.
Tyldesley said she felt “so blessed” to have been partnered with Radebe and that they would be friends for life.
“I feel like such a winner to have this guy and that is what matters,” she said.
The star said the dancer was “one of the best people I’ve ever met inside and out”.
Tyldesley said it had been her toughest week and that the cha cha was “evil”.
“It’s frustrating because I think if we’d have had a ballroom number, or if we had had the waltz or something like that, it would have been different,” she said.
“But it is what it is and I did really struggle with that dance.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.