Strictly Come Dancing star Balvinder Sopal and her professional dance partner Julian Caillon reacted to breaking a very unfortunate show record on It Takes Two.
The dancing duo, who once again found themselves in the dreaded dance off over the weekend against Doctor Who actress
Alex Kingston, have now survived FIVE dance-off rounds.
EastEnders favourite Balvinder, 46, and dancer Julian, 30, had to dance again on Sunday night’s results show – saving themselves from elimination.
The judges opted to send home Alex, 62, and her partner Johannes Radebe after they failed to impress with their Cha Cha Cha to Ring My Bell by Anita Ward.
Instead, Balvinder and Julian’s jive to Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale secured them a spot in the quarter final on Saturday.
Nonetheless, it meant that the Suki Panesar actress took to the dance off for yet another week – after finding herself there in weeks three, four, six and eight.
Strictly Come Dancing star Balvinder Sopal and her professional dance partner Julian Caillon reacted to breaking a VERY unfortunate show record on It Takes Two
The dancing duo once again found themselves in the dreaded dance off over the weekend against Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe
Joining host Fleur East on It Takes Two on Tuesday night, Balvinder and Julian reacted to the news that their dance-off count had broken show records.
Having won five dance offs, they beat the record previously held by singer Jamelia, who was eliminated during her fifth dance-off in 2015.
Fleur, 38, said: ‘You’ve also made Strictly history for surviving the most dance-offs ever. You’ve gone down in the quarter final, and your partnership has gone down in the history books.’
Looking embarrassed as her co-star clapped towards her, Balvinder replied: ‘Oh, wow’, as Julian added: ‘It’s something weird to say that you’re proud of becuase nobody really wants to be in that situation, especially not FIVE times.
‘But I always say you learn more from the tough times and the challenges than you do from the good times and to win five dance offs!
‘I am so proud of how Bal has improved as a dancer, and I’m so proud of how strong and resilient she has become… She grits her teeth and says, “Let’s keep going!”‘
It comes after the BBC confirmed that Strictly will feature yet another high-stakes dance challenge after the success of the new Instant Dance segment last week.
On Saturday night, the partnerships had to take to the floor with a mystery routine chosen at random, and given just seconds to prepare.
Joining host Fleur East on It Takes Two on Tuesday night, Balvinder and Julian reacted to the news that their dance-off count had broken show records
Having won five dance offs, Balvinder and Julian (pictured) beat the previous record of four
The couples will once again be put under pressure, this time in a new segment that producers are referring to as a ‘high-stakes dance challenge’.
During the quarter final this weekend, the professional dancers and their celebrity partners will pay tribute to the West End as Musicals Week returns.
A show teaser said: ‘Get ready for a jam-packed night in the ballroom, as it’s the quarter-final and the last themed week of the series: musicals!
‘Our couples take centre stage and transport us to the glittering West End for some show stopping routines.
‘Our couples then return to the floor to take part in another Strictly first: a brand new high-stakes dance challenge.’
Over the weekend, Alex Kingston became the eighth celebrity to be voted off the competition on Sunday, after making numerous mistakes during her performance.
The week’s scoring was made up of last week’s Blackpool Special votes, the judges scores plus the extra points from Saturday’s brand new challenge ‘Instant Dance’.
Anton decided to save Alex and Johannes, however Craig, Motsi and Shirley all agreed to save Balvinder and Julian, and therefore securing Balvinder’s place in the quarter final.
Balvinder and Julian took part in the fifth dance off over the weekend
Alex Kingston became the eighth celebrity to be voted off the competition on Sunday, after making numerous mistakes during her performance
After the results, Alex told presenter Tess Daly just how much she’s loved the show and journey, she said: ‘I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would last this long.
‘It’s been just the most incredible journey for me. I feel quite proud of myself because I’ve loved the process, I mean 100%, you can tell by my smile.
‘Everyone always says that their dance partner is a friend for life, but JoJo really will be.’
Johannes agreed to the lifelong friendship that he now has with Alex, telling Tess: ‘I’ve never grinned as much as I have in the last few weeks.
‘Thank you Alex for being a trooper, I will hold on to the memories.
‘As far as the dancing goes, I think we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve.
‘These memories are just the beginning for us, we can say that we are very much a Strictly family.’
The results show also featured a Rumba to Wicked Game by Grace Carter, choreographed by Oti Mabuse and Marius Lepure.
Myles Smith also gave an incredible performance of Stay, accompanied by professional dancers Kai Widdrington and Karen Hauer.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 6:50pm on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.