Lisa Riley voted out in Strictly Come Dancing semi-final

The actress and her professional dance partner Robin Windsor left the competition at the semi-final stage after losing the Strictly Come Dancing dance-off to Denise Van Outen.

Riley received a standing ovation from the studio audience as she bid Strictly a goodbye and reacting to the result, a tearful Lisa said: ‘It’s been the best time of my entire life, I can’t thank you enough.‘From the costume to the makeup, everybody backstage is just beyond belief, and all the judges, I’ve had the time of my life.

‘And one person has made that and that’s Robin Windsor. He has just been amazing.

‘What you don’t all know is having me as a partner is a really, really tough ask and every week, week in week out he’s done it… and he’s helped me through one of the toughest times of my life. I owe every inch of Strictly to him, he’s just amazing.’

A similarly tearful Windsor added: ‘I just want to say from day one this whole experience this year has been absolutely amazing, and Lisa has come out and shown you don’t have to be a certain size to dance, and she’s inspired so many people around the country.

‘She is one of the loveliest, nicest people I’ve ever met.’

The departure of Lisa Riley now means that Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, Olympic gymnast Louis Smith, Tracy Beaker actress Dani Harmer and TV Presenter Denise Van Outen will fight it out in next week’s Grand final.