James Cracknell is the first to bow out of Strictly Come Dancing

Olympic rower James Cracknell OBE has become the first celebrity to depart the Strictly dancefloor in 2019.

James and his partner Luba scored 11 points from the judges for their Tango last week, and their fun, pancake-inspired Jive last night received 13 points.

But sadly those two scores, combined with the public vote, meant that James and Luba faced David James and his partner Nadiya in the dreaded Dance Off.

The judges were unanimous in deciding to save David and Nadiya, with Bruno Tonioli saying: "I have to save the couple that really showed to me how you apply and you work on the comments of the judges and deliver a performance that is almost night and day from one day to the other. David and Nadiya."

But James was seeing the positive side despite his early departure:

"I definitely enjoyed the last three days of the last week as I got to grips with the steps and started to enjoy it. I’m enjoying it anyway, the luxury of being with someone so good and learning off them. I’m a way better dancer than I was two weeks ago. Luba’s been amazing with being so patient with a couple of left feet."

And Luba also had some words for James: "I would like to say a huge thank you with all my heart to make this journey so amazing. You inspired me every day and I hope you inspire many more other people to start dancing."

If, like us, you’re missing James and Luba already you can see them on It Takes Two on BBC One tomorrow (Monday) at 5.15pm as they give Rylan the full lowdown on their Strictly experience.