Lilia: "I Would Have Loved To Carry On"

Lilia has spoken to the Daily Mail about her anger and disappointment at being offered only a spot in the Strictly's dance troupe.

She told the paper: "It was a huge surprise and very upsetting. I've never been complacent, as we are all on contracts that are negotiated every year, but I didn't see it coming. I absolutely love the programme. When you're so passionate about something you want to keep doing it. It's a bit weird for me at the moment. I don't know exactly how I'm going to feel when Strictly is back on our screens, but it's going to be emotional."

She also says that Darren came to his own decision, having decided to take up the offer to be in the troupe: "Darren's only ever had two dance partners in his career, and one was me. It may even be stranger for him than it is for me, but it will be very odd for us both. Luckily, I'm not the jealous type. Darren and I are together all the time, and it was important for us to make our own decisions. I had to go with my own feeling about what's right for me and try to keep my emotions about Darren separate, but it wasn't easy. But he didn't try to persuade me otherwise."

Many have speculated that Lilia has left to start a family, but she says it's not time at the moment: "It's so funny, everyone has said that - after saying no to Strictly, people think that I must have other plans. But no, not at the moment. I'm still dancing every day, but as long as Strictly is there, I would have loved to carry on. It's a bubble. A lovely glittery bubble. But I've had an amazing six years, and I'm grateful for that."