Amanda Abbington / Zara McDermott on Strictly
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Zara McDermott reveals benefit of Amanda Abbington’s Strictly exit

Amanda quit earlier this week

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Strictly star Zara McDermott has revealed the shock benefit of Amanda Abbington quitting the show.

Amanda’s early exit from the show was confirmed earlier this week.

Amanda Abbington on Strictly
Amanda quit the show this week (Credit: BBC)

Amanda Abbington quits

Earlier this week, it was announced that Amanda had quit the show due to personal reasons.

The star’s exit was announced during It Takes Two on Monday night before she broke her silence on Tuesday with an Instagram post.

“It is with deepest regret that I had to leave Strictly. I did not come to this decision easily or lightly but for personal reasons, I am unable to continue,” she captioned a snap of her golden shoes.

“I’m so sad that I am unable to go any further. Thank you to everyone who voted and who sent wonderful messages and inspiring support. You are all amazing. Truly. Thank you,” she then added.

However, she failed to mention Giovanni in her post. This has since sparked feud rumours between the pair.

Zara McDermott's dressing room
Zara addressed Amanda’s exit on her story (Credit: @zara_mcdermott / Instagram)

Zara McDermott on benefit of Amanda Abbington quitting Strictly

Today (Friday, October 27) saw Zara reveal to her fans and followers one of the benefits of Amanda quitting Strictly.

In a story for her 1.8 million followers to see, it was revealed that with Amanda’s exit from the show means that she now gets her own dressing room, as space in the building has been freed up.

In a video on her story, Zara filmed the outside of her new dressing room, before going in and showing off the space.

“It’s a sad day because…I mean, it’s a bittersweet day because I’ve finally got my own dressing room. But I’ve been sharing with Ellie [Leach] for the last six, seven weeks, because there’s not enough space in this building. So me and Ellie have been sharing, and Nikita [Kanda] as well.

“And now, today is the day I’ve got my own dressing room!”

She captioned the post saying: “Not sure how I feel about this…@ellielouiseleach I may sneak back into your room for girl chats.”

Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima on Strictly
Will Zara be the next to go? (Credit: BBC)

Zara McDermott dealt blow by former Strictly pro

Meanwhile, Zara has been dealt a huge blow by former Strictly pro Brendan Cole.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Bingo for ED!, Brendan said: “In my opinion, Eddie [Kadi] shouldn’t have gone on Sunday, it should have been Zara and Graziano [Di Prima] because I think they were the weaker of the two dancers – having said that, they were both quite weak,” he said.

He then added: “I’ve been saying for about four weeks now that Zara [McDermott] is on her last dancing legs. I’ve danced with a couple of people like her in the past and unfortunately, she’s just not very good.

“I think one of the judges alluded to it. Graziano puts her down and then she just sort of stands there. You’re in a dance competition, you’ve got to move,” he said.

Read more: Strictly star flees rehearsals amid medical emergency: ‘I thought I was dying’

Strictly continues tomorrow (Saturday, October 28) at 6.40pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Zara and Graziano American Smooth to Can't Fight The Moonlight by LeAnn Rimes ✨ BBC Strictly 2023

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer