Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his professional partner Lauren Oakley were eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night after losing the dance-off to Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin. Both couples performed their Icons Week routines from the previous night, with Hasselbaink dancing the American Smooth to Prince’s Purple Rain and Davies alongside Kuzmin performing a Cha Cha to Ariana Grande’s Break Free. The judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and head judge Shirley Ballas chose to save Davies and Kuzmin, with Anton Du Beke, acting as this week’s casting-vote judge, saying he would have voted the same way had it been required.

Hasselbaink said: “I have absolutely loved my experience. I can only say thank-you very much for letting me have this experience and to my daughters for pushing me to come here and do this. I never expected that I would enjoy it this much. The people behind the scenes, from the wardrobe people to the hairdressers to the make-up people, are absolutely magnificent – thank-you very much. This experience is going to live with me forever.” He added: “The only thing you can do is dance as best as you can and then it’s up to the public. I was actually quite happy to dance again because I wanted to do better than my previous one. So listen, I have had a blast.”

Oakley said: “We have had the best time and I am so proud of how far he has come. It proves that anyone can be a dancer if you put your mind to it. He’s a footballer, and he just danced like that. We’ve had the best time and I’m just so proud and I feel honoured to have been able to teach you.” She also said the pair have had “so many laughs” and she was “absolutely gutted” to be leaving, though she praised Hasselbaink as an “amazing student.”

Sunday night’s results show also featured a performance of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina by Rachel Zegler, accompanied by a routine from Kuzmin and Luba Mushtuk. The Strictly professionals performed a Britney Spears group dance paying tribute to the pop star’s musical eras. It comes after hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced they will exit the show after presenting together since 2014, with their last appearance expected in the Christmas Day festive special. Hasselbaink and Oakley will appear on Strictly: It Takes Two on Monday at 6.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. The remaining 10 couples return to the dancefloor for Halloween Week next Saturday at 6.35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.