Toyah Willcox breaks silence with heartbreaking tribute to Neil Jones after Strictly Come Dancing axe
Toyah Wilcox has spoken out for the first time since being axed from Strictly Come Dancing, leaving the BBC competition on Sunday 6 October following a dance-off against former footballer Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer during the second Results Show of the series.
Sharing the same statement to Instagram and X, Toyah paid tribute to her professional partner Neil Jones and their bond, writing: "Thanks for all your support, it’s been a great ride. Thank you to the entire Strictly team for one of the most exciting experiences of my life, and Neil you are my rock xxx".
Taking to the comment section, Neil sweetly replied: " Partner, I have loved every minute spent with you and I’m so proud of you. Thank you for being my partner". While Neil's girlfriend, Chyna Mills, wrote: "So sad to see you go".
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It was Movies Week on Strictly this weekend, with Toyah and Neil performing a Samba to Poor Unfortunate Souls from Little Mermaid, having to perform the routine a second time on Sunday night's dance-off. After facing off too Paul and Karen, the judges voted to send Neil and Toyah home, with all four admitting they would be saving Paul.
When asked by Tess Daly about her brief time on the show, Toyah said: "It's been the best two months of my life, it has been fantastic. I have enjoyed every second. And you (Neil) have been phenomenal, thank you so much."
Strictly fans, some of whom had questioned the judge's choice to save Toyah over Olympic swimmer Tom Dean in last week's show, said this was the 'right' result. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, a fan wrote: "So happy with that result, so glad they are gone." A second said: “I would like to thank the British public for getting it right for once."
They might be leaving the show, but luckily, it’s not the last time Toyah and Neil will be together, the pair will join Fleur East and Janette Manrara for a chat about their experience on Strictly and give their verdict on who they think will claim the Glitterball trophy on It Takes Two on Monday (14 October).
Topping the leaderboard this week was Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and her partner Aljaž Škorjanec, who recieved 34 points out of 40, with Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola following closely behind with 33 points.
There was also drama off-screen with Nick Knowles being unable to perform after he sustained an injury before and during rehearsals.
