Saffron says goodbye to Strictly

As we approach the final weeks of the competition, nobody wants leave. But sadly, in Week 10 it was social media star Saffron Barker and her partner AJ Pritchard who were sent home, after dancing a sunny Samba.

The couple performed a summer-feel routine to Walking on Sunshine, but it failed to brighten the Judges' spirits, leaving them with a score of 26 and a place at the bottom of the leaderboard.

After the public vote had been combined with the Judges' scores, Saffron and AJ found themselves in the Dance Off for a second week running, joining Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden in the bottom two for the first time.

Both couples performed again, but Karim and Amy's Contemporary routine had the edge, sending Saffron and AJ home.

When making his decision, Judge Bruno Tonioli said: “I want to keep the couple that has proven to be the strongest both technically, but above all, artistically - Karim and Amy.”

The rest of the panel agreed unanimously, sending Karim and Amy through to Musicals Week.

Despite the decision, Saffron remained positive about her Strictly experience, telling Tess: “I’ve had the absolute time of my life and it’s all down to him [AJ]. It’s been amazing. I’d like to thank AJ so much. When I look at what I was like on Week One, I was so embarrassed and shy. He’s really taken me out of my shell. Thank you so much for everything.”

AJ also had praise for his Celeb partner, saying: "Every single week, you’ve approached it with a positive mental attitude and you’ve inspired so many - on your own social media too. As a non-dancer starting from day one, I’m not going to lie I was a bit scared… but performing those fantastic dances has been amazing."

We're so sad to see them go, but you can catch Saffron and AJ together one final time on Monday's It Takes Two at 6.30pm on BBC Two.