Hamza Yassin has confessed he "came close to dropping" his Strictly Come Dancing partner Jowita Przystał in rehearsals before their spicy and daring salsa routine last week.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, the wildlife presenter shared that "there was a certain fear" when they performed as a result.
"Rehearsals didn’t go particularly well," he said. "I came close to dropping her.
"There were a few times where, the last lift, I wobbled and I caught her. Luckily I caught her, but there was a certain fear through the whole dance with that lift there."
Related: Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova discuss Strictly elimination
Hamza added that lost more than 8kg since being in the show due to the gruelling training schedule.
"Nine hours a day we’re trying to train and it’s hard on the body,” he said, explaining how the dancing is taking a toll on his body. “My knees and legs are hurting.”
Despite beginning as one of the lesser-known contestants, Hamza has been making a splash on the show, and has quickly become a fan-favourite.
His last routine certainly brought a dose of wild to the studio. Paying tribute to BBC’s nature programming for its 100th birthday, Hamza and Jowita's salsa took the pair all the way up to the top of the leaderboard with 39 points, the highest points awarded so far this series.
Related: Strictly stars on who they are still in touch with
It was a marked difference from their 10th place finish they suffered in week 3 with a disappointing Jurassic Park rumba that scored only 25 points.
They now look ahead to tomorrow night’s show, where they will be dancing the quickstep to Imagine Dragons' 'On Top of the World'.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.
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