Strictly's Karen Hauer breaks silence as Paul Merson eliminated after shock dance-off
Strictly star Karen Hauer has shared a statement on social media after her celebrity partner Paul Merson was evicted from the programme in Sunday night's results show.
The former footballer, 56, and his pro dancer went up against JLS star JB Gill and dancer Amy Dowden, who performed their jive to Outkast's Hey Ya!, while Paul and Karen took the ballroom floor for a final time with their samba to Car Wash by R&B group Rose Royce.
Taking to Instagram after the judges chose to save JB, Karen thanked Paul for their time spent together. "There's a couple of things I came away with from teaching the legend that is Paul Merson," penned the dancer.
"1. Not shying away from a challenge. 2. You 'MUST' have dun. But most importantly, 3. Live in the moment."
"Thank you @paulmerseofficial. Like Bruce would say, 'You're My Favourite,'" added the 42-year-old.
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Fans praised the duo in the comments section, with many saying that Paul's steady progress is what the show "is all about".
One person penned: "You were both WONDERFUL. As you rightly said - Paul is EXACTLY what Strictly is all about!! LOVED seeing his nippy footwork," while another fan added: "@karenhauer & @paulmerseofficial you are EXACTLY what strictly is about! Loved seeing your improvement every week!!"
After all four judges chose to save JB, Paul said his time on the show had been "amazing".
"It's been really good," he told host Tess Daly. "For anybody I talk to, I would say you've got to go on this show. It's amazing – everybody. There's a Tottenham fan over there called Lincoln and even he's nice.
"It's been amazing, honestly, amazing. I loved every minute of it, I’ve had a great teacher," continued the former Arsenal player.
"She's been amazing, absolutely amazing and I couldn't wish for a better coach. I've loved every minute of it. I can dance now – I've won because I can dance, I couldn't dance before and I can half dance now. It's a bonus, absolute bonus."
Meanwhile, Karen said Paul had been "a joy" to dance with. "I am so proud of you. Every week you have showed up, you have improved," she said. "You're what Strictly is about and I want to thank you for bringing such joy and just showing everyone that it is possible with a little bit of work and lots of giggles."
While fans were sad to see Paul leave the competition, many were pleased for JB and were surprised to see him in the dance-off following his 30-point score on Saturday night.
One fan penned: "Massive shock to see JB & Amy in the dance-off but have to salute @PaulMerse who did himself proud on the show & was always entertaining #Strictly," while another added that it was "a big shock" that JB landed a place in the bottom two.
JB and the other ten remaining couples will return to the dancefloor next week in a spooktacular Halloween Special which airs on Saturday 26 October at 6.25pm on BBC One and iPlayer, followed by the results show on Sunday 27 October at 7.20pm.
