BBC Strictly Come Dancing favourite 'pulls out of show at last minute'

One of this year's contestants on BBC Strictly Come Dancing was absent from It Takes Two alongside dance after pulling out at the last minute

BBC's Strictly Come Dancing star Paul Merson couldn't pop over to partner Karen Hauer on It Takes Two due to "dad duties".

Balancing his role as a father of three, Merson made an appearance via video link, sharing a laugh about his recent dance performance. Janette Manrara commented on his home responsibilities, saying: "Paul you're on dad duties this evening. So you can't be in the studio this evening, that comes first." Paul quipped, "Amazing. Just to get a nice dance."

He went on to discuss the show's surprises and how they aligned with his expectations: "Obviously, a BBQ, a vindaloo, and footballs are coming in, and he looks like someone who works on a ship. Yeah, it was nice to dance. I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair."

Reflecting on participating in Strictly, Paul confessed, "It felt nice when I first took up the chance to come on to the show. This is what I thought it would be roughly, you know what I mean? So it was nice to get one of those dances in." Speaking about his previous performance, he reiterated, "When I first took up the chance to come on the show, this is what I thought it would be, roughly," reports Derbyshire Live.

Expressing his pleasure, he added, "It was nice to get one of those dances in." Janette replied, "You feel like you've got the whole Strictly experience with this dance under your belt now."

Looking ahead to the competition, Paul acknowledged, "Yeah, but now it's back to reality again this week."

A Twitter user voiced their opinion on X, stating: "He's quite right....They need to stop all these stupid dances they give to ex sports people. It's embarrassing and never works properly. Paul's dance was far better with the correct music and outfit." Another viewer chimed in with agreement, tweeting: "Stop with the joke dances. #ittakestwo #strictly."

The former Arsenal footballer remains among the favourites to be eliminated from the competition this weekend. He previously revealed he won't be paid his fee for appearing on the contest this year. Instead, it will go to his wife, Kate. It comes after past gambling and alcohol addictions had left Paul at rock bottom.

The current Sky Sports football pundit has openly discussed his past battles with gambling, booze, and drug abuse and is hopeful his time on Strictly can help raise awareness of the issues. He said: "Being an addict and a recovering alcoholic myself... to show people watching this show who have got addictions, that you can go out and do something like this... is so important.

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