Sheffield's Dan Walker dedicates Strictly performance to rugby favourite Rob Burrows' daughters - and thanks fans

The girls, Macy and Maya, sent Dan and his dance partner Nadiya Bychkova a video message wishing the pair good luck ahead of their Sleeping Beauty inspired foxtrot as part of the annual Movie Week show.

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In a tweet, Dan thanked the young sisters ‘for the best ever inspiration’ and dedicated the dance to the girls, saying ‘this one is for you’.

Their dad, Rob, is a former rugby league professional who is battling motor neurone disease.

Dan and Nadiya’s performance did not go to plan, with Dan making a mistake on the dance floor and the pair ending up with the second lowest score of the night, putting them at risk of an elimination dance in tonight’s results show.

Ahead of the show, which was filmed last night but airs on BBC 1 at 7.10pm this evening, Dan tweeted: “I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for all the lovely comments yesterday. I was disappointed but I’ve loved learning to dance with @NadiyaBychkova and - whatever happens - the ACTUAL Dame Emma Thompson gave me one of her spinach falafels as I came down the stairs #KeepSnacking.”

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The judges were mixed in their critique of Dan’s performance.

Anton Du Beke said: “I wanted to say ‘arise, Sir Dan. But it went wrong.”

He said he had danced ‘quite elegantly’, praised his ‘wonderful posture’ and said his ‘footwork is improving’.

Fellow judge, Craig Revel Horwood, who gave the dancers a three out of 10, said: “They were big mistakes, darling, they weren’t tiny ones.”