Kelvin Fletcher cried in his dressing room after his emotional dance for his wife on last week’s Strictly Come Dancing.
In a pre-recorded video message aired before his routine, the soap star paid tribute to his childhood sweetheart, fellow actor Liz Marsland, to mark their wedding anniversary.
Speaking on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, he said he had refused to watch the video before his dance because he knew it would have thrown him “off guard”.
But he admitted he “had a little cry” when he watched it back after scoring a total of 38 out of a possible 40 points from the judges.
He said: “It can throw you off a little bit. I was concentrating so hard on just being in the moment and being in the dance.
“The thought of hearing my loved ones speak just would throw me off guard. I just had to try and stay focused.”
Asked whether he cried, he said: “Certainly afterwards. I had a little cry in my dressing room watching it back. It was just a really, really good night. An amazing night.”
Fletcher married Marsland in November 2015, and they have a daughter, born in 2016, and a son, born in 2018.
He danced to Frank Wilson’s Do I Love You (Indeed I Do).
He said: “It was incredible. What a feeling to get out there and dance to my favourite song, a childhood song for me.
“Growing up listening to my dad playing it in the house and getting the chance to dance to that on the Strictly dance floor.
“It was just incredible. Such a feelgood song. So upbeat. It was a joy to dance to.”
Fletcher will channel his inner Beast when he and professional partner Oti Mabuse dance to Gaston from Disney’s Beauty And The Beast during Strictly’s musicals week this weekend.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.