Pinkham (left) describes herself as "a self-confessed sports fanatic"

The 29-year-old had been ranked in the bottom two when votes from the programme's viewers were counted.

And the show's panel decided that she should go, rather than ex-Blue Peter host Tim Vincent.

"What I was looking at tonight was a lot of things that were disappointing for me," Pinkham was told by judge Jason Gardiner.

"Your arms are like an old-fashioned scale, always tipping off-balance," he added.

"I found that with the lift, if it wasn't for Andre's strength, you wouldn't have been up there," he said, referring to Pinkham's dancing partner.

"It looks like someone has Velcro-ed you on to him."

There are 10 contestants remaining on the programme, including tennis star Greg Rusedski, pop singer Gareth Gates and former glamour model Linda Lusardi.