Strictly’s Kai Widdrington jokes he’s ‘1-1’ with girlfriend Nadiya Bychkova after losing dance-off to her

Pro dancer said he was now ‘even’ with girlfriend after she sent him and Kaye Adams home

Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington has opened up about competing against his girlfriend Nadiya Bychkova in the dance-off.

The British dancer was partnered with Kaye Adams on the new series of Strictly, with the couple the first to be eliminated from the competition on Sunday (2 October).

Adams and Widdrington faced off in the dance-off against Matt Goss and his partner Bychkova, with the judges choosing to save Goss and sending Adams home.

Appearing on It Takes Two on Monday (3 October), host Rylan Clark joked to Adams that while he’d usually focus on the celebrity’s experience in the dance-off, he wanted to know how it had been for Widdrington.

“There is a bit of an elephant in the room, isn’t there?” he said. “Because it wasn’t just you v Matt, it was Kai versus his lovely lady Nadiya. How was that when you got home?”

Luckily, Widdrington saw the funny side, saying: “Last year, when I did the only dance-off, it was also against Nadiya and I knocked her out, so it’s 1-1 now. We’re even.”

He added: “We didn’t want to be against them. You’ve been confiding in Matt a little bit and Nadiya as well, and I’ve been trying to help Matt with some advice as well, so it wasn’t nice. We got close to them over the short period of time that we’ve been here.”

Widdrington reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 with partner AJ Odudu, but the couple were unable to compete due to a torn ligament in the presenter’s ankle.

Adams and Widdrington on ‘Strictly' (BBC/Guy Levy)

In the quarter final, they were in the bottom two with Bychkova and Dan Walker, with the judges voting unanimously to send Odudu and Widdrington through.

Following her exit from the show, Adams tweeted about an ‘awkward’ encounter she’d had with a fan hours after being eliminated.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 8 October at 6.30pm on BBC One. It Takes Two airs weeknights at 6.30pm on BBC Two.