Inspiring routine that left Motsi in tears
MOTSI Mabuse was reduced to tears by Paralympian Will Bayley’s contemporary dance after he detailed his disability and childhood cancer battle.
The Strictly Come Dancing judge was seen wiping tears from her eyes after the table tennis player’s moving performance with his professional partner Janette Manrara, 35, on Saturday night’s episode.
The pair performed their routine after he spoke in an emotional video about his arthrogryposis – a rare condition which affects all four of his limbs, – and his cancer diagnosis when he was aged just seven.
The 31-year-old dedicated his performance to the patients and staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he was treated.
The couple received glowing comments from the judges, but Motsi, 38, was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t speak. Presenter Tess Daly, 50, skipped to head judge Shirley Ballas after Mr Bayley embraced Motsi as she cried.
Miss Ballas, 59, said: ‘Well this is you... I’m sure every child in every children’s hospital is looking at that today and has discovered that no matter what you put your mind to, you can do it under extreme circumstances.
‘You are inspiring, you give the whole nation hope and I thought it was just a beautiful number and so well executed.’
Alfonso Ribeiro, 48, who was standing in for judge Bruno Tonioli, also struggled for words as he fought back tears and said: ‘You gave me chills. That was incredibly inspiring.’
And Craig Revel-Horwood, 54, said it showed ‘clear emotional storytelling’, and called it: ‘A real inspiration. It was great, it really, really was.’
David James, 49, was the fourth celebrity to leave after his jive with Nadiya Bychkova, 30, scored just 16 out of a possible 40.
‘A beautiful number’