FANS of Strictly Come Dancing were left disappointed last night as JJ Chalmers was voted off the show – but they weren’t the only ones feeling downcast.
After a tough dance-off against Jamie Laing, the TV presenter, 33, and his pro partner Amy Dowden, 30, looked in low spirits as they headed home from the studio for the last time.
They kept it casual for their departure, with JJ donning black jumper and navy trousers, sprucing up his outfit with a Christmas-themed face mask covered in cute kittens.
Amy, who sat next to him for the drive home, wrapped up warm in a faux fur jacket and leggings.
Sunday’s results show saw the pair become the sixth couple to be voted off the dance floor in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition.
JJ, who was injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2011 while serving as a Royal Marine, performed a Charleston to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for musicals week, but failed to impress the judges.
Scoring 20 points, he found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard alongside Made In Chelsea’s Jamie – who scored 24 points out of 40 for his Jive to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
While he was saved by Motsi Mabuse, both of the other judges – Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas – voted to keep Jamie in the competition.
While they missed out on the semi-final, the Invictus Games star praised Amy for not letting him down despite suffering from Crohn’s disease.
He told the show’s hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly: “I’m unbelievably proud. I never thought I would make it this far.
“I’ve gotten half decent maybe at something which I had no clue about to begin with and I’ve enjoyed every second of it, it has just been an absolute blast. It’s just a privilege to be in this long.
“I mean, this competition is insane! To be counted among that cast at this stage in particular means the world to me. It’s meant everything.
“It’s been an unbelievable challenge, well outside my comfort zone but I’ve had this one to just keep me in it and I can’t quite express what she means to me.”
The father-of-two turned to Amy and added: “She’s lived through so much in her own right in fairness.
“I know that any day she can wake up and she could be hospitalised essentially so she lives fearing she’ll let people down. But the way you’ve built me up, you could never let me down.”
The emotional moment continued as Amy responded to JJ: “It has been an absolute honour to be your partner and most importantly friend, throughout your Strictly experience. He is, and everybody would agree, one of the world’s most truest gentlemen.
“I honestly believe from working with JJ over the last few months I’ve become a better person and I’ve learned so much.
“The way he faces challenges with such strength and determination, you have helped me for the rest of my life on how to face my own personal challenges. And honestly I’m so proud of every single step you’ve performed on this floor, I just had the best time.
“I didn’t think I could possibly fall in love with Strictly any more and this year my heart is just beaming full of Strictly and that’s down to absolutely everybody and I love you all.”
Last week, JJ revealed he will soon undergo surgery to remove the shrapnel in his inflamed leg to help lessen the pain of the injury.
He explained: “My body is covered in scars and it’s full of shrapnel from Afghanistan, which can sit quite happily for many years without any real issues.
“But the problem is, this one has been exacerbated. Unfortunately, what it does is it looks for the quickest way up to the surface of your skin, which is where the scar is. So it’s about a six-inch scar that’s pretty inflamed. It’s a very tender, stinging pain.
“When Amy presses up against it, it’s not a very nice thing to poke at.”
The Lance Corporal was caught up in a bomb blast that killed two of his comrades and left him severely injured – including a broken neck, losing two finger and nearly wrenching off both arms.
One of his elbows was left mangled, his leg was left with shrapnel-filled holes, his eardrum was shattered and eye socket crushed.
After 30 reconstructive operations over four years, the star re-learnt how to walk, dress and feed himself.
