Strictly Come Dancing star makes shock quitting admission after 'hard' rehearsal

Strictly Come Dancing fans were almost left devastated once again after a celebrity contestant revealed they had almost quit the competition after being faced with an impossibly difficult routine. During Tuesday's episode of the Strictly spin-off show, It Takes Two host Fleur East was joined by Balvinder Sopal and her professional partner, newcomer Julian Caillon. They joined the host to discuss their upcoming routine for Saturday's live episode and reflect on their performance, which saw them at the bottom two for another week.

The beloved duo survived Halloween week only to be back at the bottom two after dancing the Rumba to Stay by Shakespears Sister. After receiving scores of seven from the judges, Sunday's live results saw them return to the dancefloor alongside Ellie Goldstein and pro Vito Coppola. Ultimately, after viewers had their say, Ellie was eliminated from the competition, and Balvinder progressed to week seven. However, while talking to Fleur, the EastEnders star made a shocking exit admission and revealed that she "threw the towel in" during rehearsals for the challenging rumba routine.

Speaking on her attitude towards the rest of the competition, the actress shared: "I'm just going to go out there, week on week, for however long I'm here and just dance to my heart's content because that's all I've got control of, there's nothing else I can do."

Balvinder then reflected on the rehearsals for Halloween week and admitted: "Certainly with the Rumba, it was the hardest thing to learn. Literally on Tuesday, I'd thrown the towel in and said, 'I can't do it.'

"I sat in the corner and cried while Jules is standing there and just went 'when you're ready bro ... we've got to get this done.'"

The BBC star previously opened up about her "difficult week" as she took to Instagram with a photograph of herself and Julian performing, writing: "I loved dancing the Rumba with @Julian_caillon. This was a gorgeous pay off to a very difficult week."

While Julian shared images of their performance and described their performance as their "favourite dance yet".

He added: "Which I can't believe we're saying considering where we started with the Rumba," he wrote.

"This week, more than ever, I saw @leesopal grow and improve as a dancer. From the technique to the performance, there was absolutely nothing more she could've done, and I absolutely loved dancing this routine together.

"Make sure you're tuning into the results show tonight to see if we 'Stay' in the competition."

During their appearance on It Takes Two, the pair also opened up about week eight and revealed they would be dancing a couple's choice to Ed Sheeran's latest hit Sapphire, featuring Arjit Singh.

Balvider confessed that she is "really excited" and that they will be dancing the routine "barefoot." She also praised her partner and laughed: "I think Jules is a secret Punjabi, he's doing the moves better than I am, I'm a bad Indian."