Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit

Strictly Come Dancing’s Tom Dean has opened up about the ‘toughest part’ following his exit from the show. The Olympic swimmer, 24, was the first celebrity contestant to be eliminated from the BBC competition.

The triple gold medalist and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova went head-to-head with Toyah Willcox and pro dancer Neil Jones in the dance-off.

At the time he admitted that he was "gutted" but said he had "an absolute blast" on the show.

Following his exit, the star appeared on Tuesday’s episode of BBC Breakfast alongside hosts Sally Nugent and Ben Thompson and it didn’t take long for the star to be questioned about Strictly.

In a candid admission, Tom opened about his time in the competition as he admitted that standing at the top of the iconic stairs, just being he took to the dance floor was the ‘toughest part’ as he was worried about falling over.

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Former Strictly Star Tom Dean appeared on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC)

He added: “We had to do a run through over and over just to know how to walk down the stairs.” Sally went on to ask: “So you think that being on Strictly is as hard as being in the Olympics?”

Tom jumped in and said: “Mentally, definitely . Everything about it all the prep and on performance day when they are like ‘right you’re going live in 10..9.. That gets to you.”

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He continued: “The work is full on and it is a lot of hours and a lot to remember as well. Physically it’s a lot but it’s also all the steps but I loved it and really had a great time and really loved all parts of it.

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Tom was the first celebrity contestant to be eliminated from the BBC competition. (Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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“I would have loved to stay a lot longer but it does give me more time to focus on other things but it was hard.”

Sally asked: “You said it’s hard to remember the steps, how did you manage and what was your trick.”

In a sweet message to his former partner, he said: “Nadiya was an incredible teacher and we did repetition over and over. It felt like I was in a swimming pool because we would form ten sets of three and I thought I was on a break from Olympic training so it felt like I was back."

BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am and Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One

Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit

Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit

Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit

Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit

Axed Strictly star reveals 'toughest part' in rare admission after brutal exit