Aston Merrygold leaves Strictly 2017 in a shock exit!

Following the biggest shock result of the series so far, Aston Merrygold is the next celebrity to say goodbye to the Strictly ballroom. 

On Saturday night, Craig gave Aston and Janette their lowest score yet, marking them just four points for their Jackson 5 inspired Viennese Waltz due to concerns about their technique. While the remaining three Judges affirmed their routine was worthy of a seven, the couple still landed in penultimate position on the leaderboard.

Once the Judges' scores were combined with the public vote, they saw themselves thrust into their first ever Dance Off, going up against Mollie and AJ. Despite their opponents also landing in the bottom two last week, Aston and Janette were the duo eventually sent home.

While Darcey and Bruno opted to save Aston, Craig chose Mollie to remain in the competition and Head Judge Shirley followed suit. When casting the deciding vote, she said: “Well again, a very difficult choice, two fantastic couples and it’s very difficult to do. On technical accuracy, beautiful flow and full engagement during the dance, I’m saving Mollie and AJ.”

In the case of a split vote among the Judges — as with last night's outcome — Head Judge Shirley's vote is taken as the overarching final decision. This means Mollie and AJ will remain in the competition, continuing on to Week 8.

When speaking to Tess following his elimination, Aston said: "I’ve had friends who have done the show before and they’ve gone ‘you’re going to have the most amount of fun from start to finish whatever it is’ and honestly they weren’t lying! Everything, from this lady [Janette] to every single person in here, these four judges, yourself, Claudia, all you amazing lot up there that I get to see and spend so much time with. I’ve made some amazing friends and honestly I’ve had the best time, it’s been amazing.”

His Pro partner Janette Manrara responded by saying: “I just have to say, honestly I don’t think that I am ever going to have the opportunity to dance with someone like you again. Someone who is so talented, so lovely, such a good friend and I just have to say thank you."

Their presence in the Strictly ballroom will most definitely be missed, but you can catch them on the It Takes Two sofa tomorrow at 6.30pm where they'll be sharing more of their Strictly journey.