Thomas Skinner has become the first participant eliminated from 2025’s series 23 of ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ — and he’s received love from fans and fellow celebrities alike.
The entrepreneur, 34, found himself in the bottom two after the public vote, forcing him and his professional partner, Amy Dowden, into the weekly dance-off. Skinner and Dowden then faced off against former rugby star Chris Robshaw and his professional partner, Nadiya Bychkova.
After combining the scores from the first two weeks, Skinner found himself second-bottom of the overall leaderboard, with a total of 29 points from a possible 80. Robshaw was third-bottom, with a total of 30 points.
With television presenter Ross King, who was bottom of the leaderboard with 25 points, saved by the public vote, it was down to Skinner and Robshaw to convince the judges they deserved to stay.
A ‘Bonkers’ Salsa With Amy Dowden
Skinner performed a salsa with Dowden to a rendition of “Bonkers” by Dizzee Rascal in week 2. It scored him just 13 points out of 40, with Craig Revel Horwood (2), Motsi Mabuse (3), Shirley Ballas (4), and Anton Du Beke (4) all scoring him lowly.
Adding that to the 16 he scored for his week 1 paso doble to “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” by Hotei and, sadly, he was always going to be at risk of making an early exit.
Adorned in a shiny vest and equally striking trousers, Skinner gave the dance his all, but it wasn’t enough. Then, when it came to the dance-off, Robshaw was believed to have upped his game more. All four judges voted in favor of keeping the former England international player on the show for another week.
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Star Amy Dowden Praises ‘Adorable’ Tom Skinner
Skinner has recently made headlines for some of the wrong reasons. It was, therefore, nice to see the reaction to his exit from fans and fellow celebrities alike was largely positive.
Speaking immediately after, his partner Amy Dowden spoke in glowing terms about him. Dowden said, “I’ve got to know the real Tom and he is adorable. He’s looked after me. We’ve laughed so much. You’ve worked so hard, and do you know what? A Glitterball would have been amazing. But what I’ve learnt in the last few years is happiness, health, and being alive is more important than anything. And friendships — and I’ve got a new friend for life. And if I’m honest with you, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Dowden, who’s survived multiple cancer diagnoses, continued. She said, “I know there was a ballroom boy in there, so I’m a bit gutted we didn’t get to do the ballroom. But, the last few years, as you know, has been quite difficult for me and I lost all confident as a dancer. But walking into the room with you, with a massive smile and a laugh, you’ve brought me back. And, honestly, thank you.”
A clearly emotional Skinner then gave her a big hug in a touching moment.
Positive Fan Reaction
When the video of Dowden’s words was uploaded to the official ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Instagram page, both she and Skinner received a lot of love.
Skinner himself commented, writing, “Amy you are amazing inside and out. I’m gutted we didn’t go further because you honestly deserved it. You worked so hard teaching me and I honestly never thought I would love the dancing as much as I did. Friends for life. You keep shining Amy. You wonderful sole. I’m so glad I got you as a partner ❤️🙌.”
Fellow ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Dianne Buswell commented, “❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
One fan wrote, “Despite whatever his views are/what people have been told, he’s been nothing but kind and generous, and hardworking, I hope everyone who said anything nasty looks at this and sees how much it meant to both of these people! All the love ❤️.”
Another said, “Respect Tom ❤️ lovely your positivity whatever the weather 💪💪💪.”
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ returns for week 3 on Saturday, October 11, at 6:05 p.m. on BBC One. We wish Skinner and Dowden all the best in their post-elimination endeavors.
