Strictly Come Dancing was forced to say an unexpected goodbye to Tony Adams after he left the competition due to an injury.
On Saturday night, Tony and his professional partner Katya Jones found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard after performing a 1960s-themed jive. Sunday night saw the pair facing the dance-off, however, they couldn't compete due to Tony's injury.
This meant that DJ Tyler West and Dianne Buswell were automatically safe from elimination, and will go on to perform next week, but fans were devastated that he wasn't able to have a final go.
Announcing the sad news on Sunday night's show, host Tess Daly said: "Due to an injury sustained on Saturday night, Tony is unable to take part in the dance-off and has decided to withdraw from the competition."
Following this, many Strictly Come Dancing 2022 fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Tony's early exit
Gutted to see Tony go, he's an absolute joy to watch #StrictlyNovember 13, 2022
aw im gutted for tony and that he didn’t even get a chance to try and keep his place in the show😭😭 so wish he had made it to Blackpool. #StrictlyNovember 13, 2022
From arriving on a canon, doing the full monty and proving that he could dance with a quickstep tony Adams has given it all this year. Kept us entertained for 8 weeks and improved so much. I'm gutted he has gone #StrictlyNovember 13, 2022
Fans also praised the former Arsenal footballer for being so open about mental health, with some calling his message "vital" and others saying how entertaining he was to watch, as well as the fact they liked the fact he was "himself" while participating on the show.
Tony’s message is vital and brilliant. I hope he knows how much he entertained us all and I’m sure we all hope he continues to have a positive mental health journey #scd #Strictly I love you Captain Adams!!November 13, 2022
Sad to see Tony go, he's been a joy to watch every weekend & progressed so much from the first week. He should be so proud & I'm sure his message about mental health will help so many watching. #StrictlyNovember 13, 2022
I think Tony has improved a lot of people's mental health during this show by just being him #StrictlyNovember 13, 2022
Following his exit, Tony posted an official update to Twitter where he delivered the sad news that he was leaving the show early. He wrote: "There comes a point when you can no longer ignore medical advice, and very sadly my point came tonight. Sorry I couldn’t dance off against my friend @TylerWestt, but thank you thank you to ALL who made this into an unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilirating 8 weeks.
"I will miss you all. And, well I have no words for @Mrs_katjones. She is my absolute rock, queen, nemesis, HERO. I love her to bits. Keep dancing. Tomorrow I’ll be getting the leaf blower out and back to normality. With sequins."
There comes a point when you can no longer ignore medical advice, and very sadly my point came tonight. Sorry I couldn’t dance off against my friend @TylerWestt , but thank you thank you to ALL @bbcstrictly who made this into an unbelievable joyful, tough and exhilirating 8 weeks pic.twitter.com/xn7JKVWWH7November 13, 2022
Tony's exit from the competition means we're now down to our final eight couples: Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe, Fleur East and Vito Coppola, Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał, Helen Skelton and Gorka Márquez, Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima, Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu, Will Mellor and Nancy Xu and of course, Tyler West and Dianne Buswell.
There's still plenty more to look forward to on the Strictly dancefloor, on Saturday night's Blackpool special which will see them performing at the world-famous Tower Ballroom.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, November 19 at 7:45 pm on BBC One. Episodes are available on demand via BBC iPlayer.
