We’re sad to say that Strictly Come Dancing contestant Michelle Visage has sashayed away from the competition, after landing in the bottom two in Blackpool.
In this week’s live show, Michelle finished in last place on the leaderboard after her much-awaited Couple’s Choice routine to Madonna’s Vogue, with some viewers admitting they were disappointed with the judges’ scores.
Following this, the RuPaul’s Drag Race judge and professional partner Giovanni Pernice wound up in the bottom two for the second week in a row in Sunday night’s results show, this time against Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard.
After both couples performed for the judges again, the panel unanimously chose to save Saffron and AJ, although Craig Revel Horwood admitted it wasn’t an easy decision for him.
“I’m having a really difficult time with myself over this. This doesn’t normally happen to me,” he explained. “I normally make a very quick, instant decision. This has been really, really difficult.
“One couple took all the notes on board and one couple were better. And the couple I’ve decided I would like to save is save is Saffron and AJ.”
Having found out her fate, Michelle said: “This whole experience has been amazing. At 51 years old and never danced in my life, I never thought I’d be able to do what I have done and to have such an incredible partner.”
Referring to her Vogue routine, which she dedicated to the LGBTQ community, Michelle added: “To be here for my husband and my kids and the entire community, that’s why I did what I did. I am so honoured to be welcomed by my new friends here.”
When asked about working with Giovanni, Michelle told Tess Daly: “I couldn’t have done it without him. He has been so amazing, so transformative. Just my rock and my best friend throughout this entire competition.
“He could take it as much as he could dish it, and I needed somebody like that. I’m going to miss seeing him every day. I would never have wanted to do this with anyone else.”
Referencing their much-discussed fiery working relationship, Giovanni revealed: “We laugh, we cry, we fight and we argue and we’ve done everything but I’ve loved every single second.
“I think you are inspirational and we did this dance and wanted to send a message. You are a phenomenal lady and I am so proud of everything we’ve done. I’m here to say thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Since landing in the bottom two last week, it’s been a tough week for Michelle, who was forced to speak out to dispel rumours she was “unhappy” with Giovanni, and also admitted she was “gutted” at not having been invited to take part in the upcoming Strictly live tour.
Over the weekend, Michelle shot down rumours that her absence from the tour was due to money, via her representative.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday night at 7pm on BBC One.
