Judge Rinder has revealed he was dealing with an emotional secret while performing his final dances on Strictly Come Dancing last weekend.
The 38-year-old TV personality - real name Robert Rinder - bowed out of the BBC dance show on Sunday night, but there was more upsetting news for him than being voted off the show.
Appearing on BBC Two spin-off It Takes Two, Rob revealed he discovered he lost a close friend moments before his elimination dance.
"Someone I really love in my life passed away," he revealed to Zoe Ball while dance partner Oksana Platero sat beside him.
Fighting back tears, the ITV star explained that the Strictly studio audience gave him strength to dance one final time before he was booted off the BBC dance show.
"Something just happened and I decided to have the most fun I possibly could," he said.
"When we walked out, I could feel the energy of the audience. I felt the energy from everyone to the runner to the people in costume. The love and passion permeates into the show," he explained.
Despite losing out on the glitterball trophy, Judge Rinder thinks the audience were with him every (quick) step of the way.
"I think with Strictly, people don't want you to do badly. They're willing you to do well," he said.
Having bowed out of the ballroom, it will be back to the courtroom for the TV star where he deals with low-level legal cases for the viewing pleasure of afternoon TV watchers.
And while he says the audience on Strictly might want to treat him gently, it seems his own 'contestants' don't get such an easy deal.
"I don't get a cheap thrill out of calling them idiots. I never put it in those terms, by the way," the judge told the Radio Times about interacting with the members of the public who bring their disputes to him to decide.
However the TV magazine then pointed out he does goad the legally challenged guests on his show – one time telling a man: "I think you're an absolute moron."
But Rob defended himself – saying he would only ever shout at someone like that if they deserved it.
"OK, but by that stage, I am just saying what everybody else is thinking!" he laughs.
Robert also explained that he wanted to be an actor at one stage in his life – but decided not to pursue that particular dream when he auditioned for a the same role as Benedict Cumberbatch when they were both at university.
"I thought I'd done well, and then I saw him deliver exactly the same lines and it was so different," he explained.
"He had a fizz, a chemistry and an understanding of the text that you just knew was what the writer wanted it to sound like," he added.
The boys went on to become good friends – with Benny even presiding over Rob's 2013 wedding to Seth Cummings.
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