Sara Davies could see Robert Webb was "struggling" on last week's 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Sara Davies
The 49-year-old comic - who was partnered by Dianne Buswell - decided to withdraw from the competition after seeking an "urgent consolidation" with the specialist overseeing his recovery from heart surgery and realising he isn't at the right stage of his recovery to cope with the demands of the show.
And fellow 2021 'Strictly' star Sara - best known as an investor on TV's 'Dragon's Den' - has revealed she noticed Robert was finding it difficult to keep up with the pace.
The 37-year-old businesswoman told RadioTimes.com: “He’s such a big personality Robert.
“I don’t know if you realised when we’re queuing up backstage – they’re the couple who are just in front of us, so for me, the most exciting moment is that five minutes before we get ready to go out and I feel like I shared that with Robert every week.
She added: “I got to know Diane as well and the joke last week was that she got my blonde hair, and I got her red hair. But I could see that Robert was really kind of struggling. I watched him last week and he was struggling.”
The television personality admitted the 'Peep Show' star must have been "devastated" and likely continued for as long as he did so not to let his professional partner down.
Sara said: “I know how he feels as well because he won’t have wanted to let Diane down, so I know he’d have been trying to push through.
“So for him to take that decision must have been so difficult because it’s not like you can say, ‘I want to kind of have a few weeks off and then see if I feel any better’ or can put a pause on it and come back next year and do it. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I know how devastated he’d have been to pull out.”
Announcing his exit from the competition, Robert said in a statement earlier this week: "I'm extremely sorry to have to announce that I'm withdrawing from 'Strictly Come Dancing' due to ill health.
"Two years ago I had open heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on 'Strictly' and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery.
"I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show."
He also paid tribute to his dance partner and thanked fans for their support, in particular those who have had similar health issues to his.
Dianne was devastated by the circumstances surrounding their departure but is happy to have made a "friend" in Robert.
'Strictly Come Dancing' returns tonight (16.10.21) from 7.10pm on BBC One.
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