BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Sam Quek shares 'sobering reminder' as she breaks silence on exit

Sam Quek revealed that she and her fellow Strictly Come Dancing co-stars were hit with a 'sobering moment' earlier in the competition as she broke her silence on her exit.

The Olympic hockey star became the sixth celebrity to leave the BBC One dance contest as she was voted out following week seven of the 2024 series alongside professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin.

After the first ever 'Icons Week', on Sunday night (November 3) the results show was all about the latest dreaded dance-off and facing Sam and Nikita was Gladiator Montell Douglas and her dance partner Johannes Radebe.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing star admits 'sobbing like a baby' during latest live show in emotional admission

Both couples had to reprise their icon-themed routines again, with Sam and Nikita dancing an American smooth to Taylor Swift’s Love Story while Montell and Johannes re-performed their waltz to I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston.

After reperforming their routines, all four judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke - all agreed unanimously to save Montell and Johannes, therefore making Sam and Nikita the sixth couple to exit the competition.

Speaking about her time on the show, Sam told co-host Tess Daly: "I’m gutted, I just want to say thank you. I’ve learned so much. Strictly has just brought that spring in my step back.

"It’s just been an absolute joy. Nikita, you’ve been key in helping me find that inner Sam that was there, who went a little bit quiet for maybe one or two years and has just come back. I’m gutted because I do feel like I still have more to give."

Sam then went on to speak out on social media as she issued a lengthy statement alongside a photo of herself and Nikita from when they were first told they'd been paired up together for Strictly's 20th-anniversary series.

"Please swipe for a little word from me. Thank you and Love you all. #Strictly," she said in the caption as the typed-out message read: "Firstly, I want to thank my teammate, Nikita. As the weeks ticked on I got to know you on a deeper level and the way I can sum you up to people who perhaps don't know you is to say that you have a really good heart.

"Of course, there is also your dedication to your craft and your professionalism which is something I respect so much. As a partnership, we agreed to shoot for the moon and if we missed, we might land amongst the stars."

Sam went on to say they did just that but that she "all too often missed a step" or "was out of time and instead of landing amongst the stars, we actually ended up in some random farmers field somewhere". She said Nikita's choreography often 'deserved more than she could deliver' but said they were the "ultimate team".

Sam went on to thank thank "everyone associated with the show" which she said was "tougher than she imagined". But she said she "cannot be too sad about leaving" as she gave it "everything I had. I feel short and that's OK, because there is nothing more I could have done".

She also recalled what professional dancer Amy Dowden said in the studio when she and her dance partner JB Gill previously landed in the dance off and found themselves facing "tension, surprise and awkwardness in the studio".

The mum-of-two went on: "Amy turned around to the audience and said, 'Come on folks, it's just a dance-off... It's not a year of chemotherapy!' A sobering reminder that there are bigger and more important things going on in the world than Strictly Come Dancing... Amongst the glitz, glamour, twirls and lifts you can sometimes forget that."