Neil Jones has left a heartfelt message to axed \'Strictly Come Dancing\' star Alex Scott.
The 37-year-old dancer - who was eliminated from the BBC Latin and ballroom competition alongside the former footballer on Sunday (01.12.19) - took to Instagram to praise his celebrity partner for their time together. in a lengthy post.
He wrote: "Joyful joyful was the perfect song to end our @bbcstrictly journey together because from the first moment we started together that\'s how u have made me feel. .
"From day 1 I have taken my time to get to know you @alexscott2 MBE as I really wanted to make sure that you enjoyed every moment. All I can say is the nation has seen the real you. I\'ve said it a million times that you have made me proud and you have made me smile. (sic)"
The 35-year-old former sportswoman is the latest celebrity to leave the BBC show, after losing in the dreaded dance off to comedian Chris Ramsay.
However, Neil claimed he is the real winner after Alex taught him his "biggest lesson".
He continued: "Of course I was there to teach you how to dance but you taught me sooooo much more and the biggest lesson I learnt was to always be myself and never change.
"You have warmed the hearts and inspired so many people around the country on a daily basis because you always worked hard and I never heard you complain plus you did all of this with a smile on your face."
The pair missed out on going through to the semi-finals next week for the chance to take home this year\'s glitterball trophy after Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton were crowned winners last year.
But Neil doesn\'t hold any regrets over his time on the competition and thanked the public who voted to get them this far.
He added: "I will walk away from all of this with my head held high knowing that we did everything we could do and without a single regret and loving every moment.
"I want to really thank everyone that has supported us both with your messages, posts, votes and just spreading the positivity of #teamred
"I have soooooo much more I would like to say to everyone including Alex but I will stop now or it will turn into a book. I\'m just sad I\'m not teaching you a new dance in the morning unless we could just dance together for fun and giggles"
The semi-finals will see Karim Zeroual, Kelvin Fletcher, Emma Barton and Chris Ramsey battle it out across the dancefloor on Saturday night\'s (14.12.19) episode.
