Melvin Odoom felt like he had "let people down" when he was eliminated first from 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Melvin Odoom opens up about being eliminated first from Strictly
The 43-year-old presenter didn't have the chance to fight for his place in the 2016 series of the BBC Latin and Ballroom competition because pop singer Anastacia could not take part in the dance-off due to injury and was "devastated" to go out first because his mum is a huge fan of the show and his professional partner Janette Manrara had worked "so hard" with him.
Speaking on the 'White Wine Question Time' podcast, he told former 'Loose Women' anchor Kate Thornton: "When I got kicked off 'Strictly', I was devastated. I thought I'd let down so many people. My mum is a big fan of the show, Janette Manrara, my dance partner, was incredible. You know how hard they work and she put so much effort into me for those first few weeks on the main show so when I got kicked off, I felt like I had let them down. And obviously, for me, it was a weird situation because I was up against Anastasia, she didn't want to do her dance-off so I never got the chance to really fight for my place. I think I'm alright, in the club. I'm okay! I wasn't embarrassed but I felt like I let everyone down. Dancing in a club and dancing doing the Tango is two different things. It's like a minefield."
However, the former CBBC star was then asked to take part in the festive special of the show that same year and whilst he initially declined the offer, he explained that it was his sister Yonah who urged him to do it and helped him on his way to lifting the Glitterball Trophy.
He added: "I remember coming home and the BBC called me asking me to do the Christmas special. I said no. I called my sister and she said 'You have to do it, you'll smash it' and I was like 'Yeah but I was kicked off the main show' and she said 'You're my brother, I know you're going to do well.
"They didn't get a chance to get to meet the real you'. She said to just go and do it. So I did. My sister would sit and watch all the videos with me. She learned Janette's moves, not as well as Janette did, but she would practice with me every night after I'd practiced in the day, and that's how I learned the routine. She just believed in me and I think because she believed in me so much I got the confidence back, and that's how I ended up winning."
Tagged in Anastacia Kate Thornton