Heartbreak for BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shayne Ward after sharing why he wanted to get to Blackpool

Shayne Ward previously told how he wanted to make it to Strictly Come Dancing's Blackpool special for a very moving reason.

The singer and actor has heartbreakingly fallen short on making it to perform in the seaside town's iconic Tower Ballroom after becoming the seventh celebrity to leave the BBC One dance contest on Sunday night (November 10) alongside professional dance partner Nancy Xu.

They had returned to the ballroom for week eight of Strictly's 2024 run with the notoriously difficult rumba, which they performed to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper on Saturday night (November 9).

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While Shayne admitted to enjoying the performance, judge Motsi Mabuse told the former Coronation Street star that it "was not one of your best dances". Head judge Shirley Ballas had a more positive outlook and said the two were beginning to develop a chemistry and the pair were given 30 points.

Shayne and Nancy were then confirmed to be in the bottom two and faced the dreaded dance-off off against Wynne Evans and Katya Jones during the seventh results show of Strictly's 20th-anniversary series.

Both couples performed their routines again with Shayne and Nancy first reprising their Rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper before Wynne and Katya performed their American Smooth to Grace Kelly by MIKA.

After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts: Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Shayne and Nancy, as did Motsi Mabuse, while Anton Du Beke chose to save Wynne and Katya. With two votes in favour of Shayne and Nancy, the decision came down to head judge Shirley Ballas, who decided to save Wynne and Katya.

It means Shayne won't be heading to Blackpool next weekend after telling the Manchester Evening News how much it would mean to him. The 40-year-old, who hails from Tameside, told us: "More than anything, my mum might not be able to make it down to the shows, but for me if I can make it to Blackpool, I can get her there. It’s one of the main things I envision - I want to see my mum in the Blackpool Towers, in the ballroom supporting me. That’s something I want to aim towards."

It comes after Tess Daly asked about his time on the show following the confirmation of his exit, to which Shayne said: "I just want to say, you guys up there [the other contestants in the Clauditorium] are a dream. Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys you helped me so much. I want to say thank you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I've ever done."

"I'm proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Nancy], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go. I'm sorry it didn't work out to the end, but I'm super proud that I got to meet you [to Nancy] and dance with you, so thank you."

Nancy also shared: “I'm beyond proud of this dance partnership. Shayne from week one until this point, every second you put your feet on the dancefloor you improved yourself. You're a deep thinker, you always doubt yourself, you never believed yourself, but I never ever questioned you.

"When I watch you, I feel proud because I've turned someone who has never ever danced in their life into an amazing dancer. You should believe in yourself. I adored this partnership."