Lisa Riley has missed out on a place in next weekend's Strictly Come Dancing final after being eliminated in the final dance-off of the series. The former Emmerdale actress and partner Robin Windsor had previously escaped the bottom two, but lost out when faced with Denise Van Outen and James Jordan in the battle for the last place in the final. And after she and Robin had reprised their foxtrot from Saturday night's show and Denise and James had reprised their tango, the verdict from the judges was once again unanimous. Craig Revel Horwood saved Denise and James "on technique," while Darcey Bussell added: "This is so hard but yes, technically, the ones I'm going to save are Denise and James." Afterwards Lisa sobbed as she told Tess Daly that appearing on the show had been "the best time of my entire life". "From the costume to the makeup, everybody backstage is just beyond belief, and all the judges, I’ve had the time of my life," she added. And Lisa also paid tribute to Robin, saying: "What you don’t all know is having me as a partner is a really, really tough ask and every week, week in week out he's done it, and he's helped me through one of the toughest times of my life. I owe every inch of Strictly to him, he's just amazing." An emotional Robin was quick to praise his partner, saying: "Lisa has come out and shown you don't have to be a certain size to dance, and she's inspired so many people around the country." The pair then took to the floor for a final dance in which Lisa lifted Robin up and whirled him round the ballroom. Saturday's show had seen Lisa perform both her American Smooth and a salsa - a routine which previously saw off Fern Britton, Richard Arnold and Michael Vaughan from the competition - and finish bottom of the judges' scoreboard as a result. The result means that Kimberley Walsh, Louis Smith, Denise Van Outen and Dani Harmer will compete in next Saturday's final in a bid to win the coveted glitterball trophy, which was last year won by McFly's Harry Judd. It is the second year running that professional dancer Pasha Kovalev has been in the final, having finished runner-up with Chelsee Healey in 2011, while the other remaining professionals - Flavia Cacace, Vincent Simone and James Jordan - have all reached the final in previous years but none has ever partnered a series winner.
