Amanda Abbington has been met with outpouring of support after it was confirmed she will
During Monday’s It Takes Two, host Fleur East kicked off the show by revealing the Sherlock actress, 49, is leaving the hit dance show.
A Strictly spokesperson said: ‘Amanda Abbington is unable to continue in Strictly Come Dancing and has decided to withdraw from the competition. The show wishes her all the best for the future.’
Amanda’s Strictly pro partner Giovanni Pernice shared a picture of him and Amanda backstage as they posed for the camera.
He penned: ‘Amanda .. I am so sad we can’t continue but I am proud of what we achieved and I am sending you so much love.’
Dancer Gorka Marquez wrote: ‘Sending you love,’ alongside kiss emojis.
Coronation Street actress and Strictly star Ellie Leach commented: l’ove you so much @amanda_abbington74 ❤️.’
TV personality Angela Scanlon added: ‘So gutted. We love you.’
While Amanda is yet to directly didn’t taking part, on Saturday morning she shared a post to about mental health after missing the latest live show.
Resharing a post that included a photo and quote from late actor Robin Williams, it read, as reported by : ‘People don’t fake depression… they fake being okay. Remember that. Be kind’.
It’s been a tough start to the competition for Amanda, who was just weeks before the show started.
Posting on Instagram in late August, Amanda said she was suffering from a ‘particularly vicious’ bout of food poisoning.
She then begged her followers: ‘Any tips on how to feel back to normal GREATLY appreciated.’
Before the live show kicked off, a video was shared on Instagram by her fiancé Jonathan Goodwin which showed the star struggling to sit down on the floor to put on her comfy shoes after rehearsals.
‘How are you feeling this morning Amanda?’ former Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan asked, to which Amanda replied: ‘I feel a little bit fragile, I’m not going to lie.’
The 49-year-old explained that while her arms and her legs were feeling ok, her feet were a whole other story.
‘I welled up upstairs in tears thinking about having to put my dance shoes on again,’ she added.
Even putting on her trainers – which Amanda described as the ‘most comfortable’ shoes that she owns – left her wincing and gasping in pain.
While her right foot wasn’t as bad, she explained that she’d developed a nasty blood blister on the bottom of her left foot.
When Jonathan, 43, asked why dance shoes feel so much worse than other shoes, Amanda had a simple answer.
‘Because the people who created them hate women,’ she responded, laughing. ‘And they wanted to give them as much pain as possible while enjoying a nice recreational activity.’
Strictly Come Dancing returns this Saturday on BBC One.
