Nikita Kuzmin breaks silence after Strictly exit with Sam Quek
Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin has broken his silence after being eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing with his dance partner, Sam Quek.
The pair were voted out from the show on Sunday evening after they lost out to Olympian Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe in the dance-off.
Taking to Instagram following his exit, the 26-year-old dancer shared several photos of the pair's Strictly journey and wrote: "Samatha, you can't imagine how proud I am of every single thing that you’ve achieved in the last 8 weeks. Like I said to you, I'm in awe of the way the you were throwing yourself into this experience and improving each week sooo much; how you were always so kind you were to me & everyone else around us every day; how great of a mom you are, and how much love you have to give.
"You've been a joy to be around, thank you thank you thank you. To everyone who voted, cheered & lived this experience with us, thank you! Without every single one of you, this would have never been possible. Love you guys, and thank you! This may have ended earlier than anticipated, but thank you for the best time. LOVE, NIKITA."
During Icons Week, Nikita and Sam performed an American Smooth to Taylor Swift's 'Love Story', which bagged them 29 points on Saturday night. Montell and Johannes, meanwhile, scored 35 points with their Waltz to 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston.
All four judges agreed unanimously to save Douglas and Radebe.
Speaking on Sunday's results show, an emotional Sam said: "I'm gutted, I just want to say thank you. I've learned so much. Strictly has just brought that spring in my step back.
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"It's just been an absolute joy. Nikita, you've been key in helping me find that inner Sam that was there, who went a little bit quiet for maybe one or two years and has just come back.
"I'm gutted because I do feel like I still have more to give."
Nikita added: "I'm just in awe of this girl. Sometimes they say it's about the journey, not the destination, but to me it's about the company. Sam, you are the most wonderful company I could have had."
Saturday's show saw professional dancer Lauren Oakley step in for JB Gill's partner Amy Dowden after the Welsh dancer collapsed backstage last week and was taken to hospital.
A representative for the star said at the time: "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution."
In Amy's absence, JB and Lauren topped the leaderboard alongside Love Island's Tasha Ghouri and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec.
Elsewhere, Pete Wicks found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard with his Salsa to Queen hit, 'Another One Bites the Dust' while Chris McCausland scored 29 points with his Tango to KISS' 'Rock and Roll All Nite'.
Last week, it was an emotional goodbye for Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez whose tango to Sweet Dreams saw them at the bottom of the leaderboard. The duo went up against Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, who were facing the dance-off for the second time.
