Arsenal legend Tony Adam’s wife, Poppy, broke her silence on her husband’s withdrawal from Strictly Come Dancing.
Poppy confirmed there was no feud between Tony and his professional dance partner Katya and the football star had left the show because he was “old with a dodgy knee”.
Poppy told the Mail Online that taking part has started to “take its toll and it was time to drop out”.
READ MORE: Strictly star ‘gutted’ to miss Blackpool and will be ‘green’ watching BBC show
“He has gone much further on the show than he had hoped and it was time to leave. Taking part has taken its toll and it was time to drop out”, she said.
Rumours had been circulating that Tony had left the show after a series of “heated rows”, including one that appeared to be caught on air, with Katya, but Poppy quickly shut down the assumptions, claiming Tony “adored” Katya.
(Image: BBC)
“They (Tony and Katya) are both punchy people and give as good as they get. He adored her and there was never a row as people have said – he has left because his body can’t take any more.”
Poppy also revealed that Strictly bosses had reportedly offered to advance Tony directly to the next round of the competition in Blackpool, but Tony had declined.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
“Do you know that they actually told him NOT to dance and instead go straight to Blackpool and he said no because that would have been unfair to everyone else?” she admitted.
All in all, Tony’s wife had nothing but words of support and praise for her husband’s attempt at the show and congratulated him for taking it “very seriously”.
“I know some people saw him as a bit of joke, but he did not want to be the joke and took is very seriously. He trained very hard, and it has just taken its toll”, Poppy said.
On his own exit, Tony’s farewell message explained that the Strictly gig was “physically really tough”.
“It’s been emotional guys, I cried for the first month. I came in here with one message, if you’ve got an issue with mental health then please don’t suffer in silence and reach out for help,” he started.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
Tony continued: “Little did I know that I was going to learn a lot about myself in the process. I’ve got to be honest, it’s tough, physically it’s really tough – but dancing is really fantastic for you. Go out there and enjoy it and pick up new skills and explore.”
“I suppose I had better mention this one [Katya] hadn’t I, she is an exceptional human being, she really is. I will be forever grateful that I was partnered up with you. I loved that we didn’t care what people thought, we did every single dance our way”, he concluded.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
