Ed Balls said he left on a high after finally getting the boot from Strictly Come Dancing.
After weeks of defying the judges’ poor scores, the former shadow chancellor, 49, exited the BBC1 show following a dance-off with Judge Rinder.
All the judges – Len Goodman, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood – chose to give Balls the push.
The unlikely Strictly star said he had no idea what his future held but vowed to keep dancing after becoming the 10th celebrity to leave the show.
His ejection came after show bosses were accused of staging a plot to get rid of the ex-politician by organising a Cha Cha Challenge, as well as the usual routine.
Balls came last in the challenge and his scores were combined with the results of the couples’ dance and the viewers’ vote.
This time, the votes from viewers were not enough to save him.
Balls, who has entertained viewers with his routines to Gangnam Style and Great Balls of Fire, said afterwards: “The most important thing for me was to always leave on a high, not on a low….
“I so enjoyed myself and got so much further than I ever thought I could and I am going out on a high.”
The ex-politician said the show had been a journey of self-discovery.
“It has been much more than I ever thought it would be … The warmth and generosity of the family and fans and the amount I’ve learnt about myself and performing and what I can actually do is way beyond anything I would ever have imagined,” he said.
He said that the judges had been “right” in their decision and that he “couldn’t quite match the standard needed to stay in”.
“I started off as a novice and I’ve worked hard to improve but the longer the competition went on the higher the standard, the judges were looking for more and more and although I worked hard I just couldn’t match that,” he said.
Balls said that he would “miss” his dance partner Katya Jones, while she added: “I absolutely love this man.”
And he vowed to “keep dancing”, saying that wife “Yvette (Cooper) is absolutely clear that she wants to learn the Charleston, Foxtrot and Jive”.
Asked what was next, he said: “I don’t know at all and that’s great – I have no idea. It means next Saturday I can go and watch Norwich v Brentford as I’ve missed three games.”
There was praise from Westminster for the ex-MP-turned-celebrity, with former shadow cabinet colleague Rachel Reeves suggesting his days in politics are not over.
“There’s certainly still a place for him in the political debate. It’s up to him to decide what his future is but it’s been great fun watching him in Strictly. I think the public have seen a side of him that they didn’t see before,” she told the BBC.
Lord Cable said he had emerged as a “really rather like-able character”.
“[It] was not the stereotype that people had of him beforehand. I think that’s why people voted for him. He was perfectly humane, quite sensitive and entertaining,” he told the broadcaster.
The Liberal Democrat peer – who appeared in on the 2014 Christmas special – added: “I was on it once. Top of my CV is the 10 from Len. I always cite that. Ed never quite made that but he won the popular vote which I think is rather more important.”
The remaining five couples will return to the dance floor in the quarter final of the competition on Saturday.
