Zara McDermott believes she has left herself disappointed after being eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing for the second time in five weeks.
The former Love Island contestant is paired with professional ballroom dancer Graziano di Prima for the latest series of the BBC show, but has had mixed fortunes since her return on September 16.
After failing to impress with their pasodoble in the third week, the pair ended up back in the bottom two on Sunday night – only to be saved at the expense of comedian Eddie Kadi and professional partner Karen Hauer.
Zara, 26, admitted on Instagram after the show that her second dance-off was “definitely not the easiest moment” of her Strictly journey.
She added: “I think I let those nerves get the better of me during our performance and knew I could have done better.”
Excitement: Zara McDermott believes she has let herself down after being eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing for the second time in five weeks
Not happy: Zara admitted on Instagram after the show that her second dance-off was “definitely not the easiest moment” of her Strictly journey
“When I left the dance floor I definitely felt like I had let myself down because I knew I could have done a little better with those rubber legs both physically and mentally!”
She thanked the judges for sparing her, writing: “I’m just not ready for this journey to end and the thought of leaving last night broke my heart.”
“I promised myself and Graz that this week I will work on getting these nerves under control and not letting them stop me from doing my BEST!”
Zara, who previously admitted to being a terrible dancer, also insisted she will come back stronger in week six and is ready to be “pushed out of her comfort zone”.
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin finished at the top of the leaderboard with 39 points on a night full of mistakes and blunders.
At the other end were Eddie and Karen with 24 points and the pair were eventually ousted from the show after losing the dreaded dance-off to Zara and Graziano.
However, some viewers at home questioned the decision on social media – especially as he was given a 10 by head judge Shirley Ballas for her show Movie Week Men In Black just two weeks ago.
One viewer told X about the result: “I’m absolutely disappointed. Eddie and Karen are eliminated. Eddie should be proud of himself and how well he did.”
Conclusion: The former Love Island contestant is paired with professional ballroom dancer Graziano di Prima for the latest series of the BBC show
Another said: “It’s so sad to see them go.” “Eddie and Karen had something special and I agree Eddie’s natural groove might get in the way but he can move.”
While a third posted: “I totally disagreed with this outcome tonight.”
A fourth added: “Eddie and Karen should have stuck with it. I’m not actually a judge, but they harmonize so well and have so much more rhythm…”