Craig Kelly, Flavia Cacace ('Strictly Come Dancing')

Coronation Street and Queer As Folk star Craig Kelly became the eighth celebrity to depart Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night. After fulfilling his dream of making it through to the one-off show in his hometown of Blackpool, Kelly and his professional partner Flavia Cacace were given the boot by the public and judges after a disappointing cha cha cha. We caught up with the duo before the Blackpool show and chatted to them about their Strictly journey.

You've been described as the underdog of this Strictly series. Do you like that tag?
Craig: "Part of me likes being the underdog. No-one is expecting anything from you and it's nice to know that everyone is rooting for you. But I'm certainly very keen to prove the critics wrong. That very much fired me up and made me want to try harder. It made me want to deliver what I can actually do. I've done it here in the training room with Flavia. Unfortunately, the problem for me was that I haven't been able to hit it when it matters. That's no excuses, that's just a fact."

The judges have made some harsh comments during the series. Have they ever upset you?
Craig: "I take it all with a pinch salt."
Flavia: "I don't think all the comments were fair. But they all have their own opinions and are entitled to them. Len has stuck up for us, a lot of them have been constructive comments - which are fair - but they do say an odd one, which I can't understand. I guess that's just part of the show - they are just trying to get the best out of us."
Craig: "I saw Bruno's comments as tough love - maybe that's just me being optimistic. It makes great TV as well, if the judges say that I can't do it and then Len comes to my rescue. Craig as well, said several times that I had potential, but it has just never come out."

Do you think there is an actual dancer inside you?
Craig: "Oh, definitely. When we started doing the tango and the rumba, we thought we were going to smash it!"
Flavia: "I never had any problems with the music with Craig. Every time I put the music on, he picked it up straight away. He had the timing, he had rhythm and he can groove - in his own way. He may not have been a natural Latin and Ballroom dancer, but he can dance for sure. I think he's proven that in training, more than Saturday nights."

You were in two dance-offs early on, but have avoided the drop since then. Why do you think the public started supporting you?
Flavia: "Every week there has been an improvement. At the start we moved slowly because of the nerves. We've had to fight that on top of learning to dance. Every week there has been a subtle improvement and I think we can say there has been a solid growth over the weeks. I think that is maybe why the public have got behind us. That's what Strictly is about. After being the first dance-off, everything since then has been a bonus."

Who do you think will go on to win the show?
Craig: "They are all so good. Let's just say now, Ricky Whittle is brilliant - what a brilliant dancer he is. He is the one everyone's got to beat. He works hard and is a nice lad. He's the red hot favourite for a reason. This year though, there's so many good dancers. We don't see ourselves in that league."

Would you consider pulling out a backflip like Ricky Whittle did?
Craig: "I would do a backflip if I could! I can actually do a moonwalk really well, but I was pipped to the post in doing that by Ricky Groves. Every week I ask Flavia, 'can I do the Moonwalk?' and she says, 'no'. I did have one for about four beats on the jive, but it was so quick you couldn't see it. I didn't get any comments from the judges about it."

Bruce Forsyth has come under some criticism this year. What has he been like to spend time with?
Flavia: "The time that you spend with him, he is so lovely. He is so supportive and always has time for the dancers and celebs. He is absolutely lovely and just the way you see him on TV."
Craig: "He knows everyone's name, which I know sounds silly, but some people wouldn't do that. It's Brucie, isn't it? He's a legend."

Would you be interested in working on a Coronation Street musical?
Craig: "Hey, why not? What a great idea. They talked about doing a Queer As Folk musical and I think you can make a musical these days out of anything. A Coronation Street musical would be rather brilliant, I think. Let's get someone to write it and do the songs. I would be right up for that."

Does that mean you might be coming back to Weatherfield?
Craig:"I'm not coming back to the Street. Never say never, but he was a bit of a chancer, wasn't he, Lukey boy? He's gone. The door is left open and you never know, but there's no plans to return."