Strictly star breaks down on show after making history as fans left ‘bawling’ at TV

Strictly Come Dancing took an emotional turn after a star made history. The glitzy BBC One show made its return to screens on Saturday (October 5) for the Movie Week special. Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were back to welcome the remaining celebs to the dance floor. Last week, Tom Dean and his professional dancing partner Nadiya Bychkova became the first couple to get the boot following a dance-off against Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones. And this week, the likes of JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri and Shayne Ward were back to show off their best moves. Judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke were on hand too, to share their thoughts on the routines. For the themed episode, the famous faces transformed into characters from movies over the years, with the pros performing Despicable Me themed group number at the start. But for Dr Punam Krisha, she made history on the long-running BBC show. Partnered with Gorka Márquez, the pair performed the show’s first-ever traditional Bollywood number.Punam and Gorka danced their Couple’s Choice routine to Bole Chudiyan from the iconic Bollywood movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… And it’s fair to say the judges were seriously impressed with their routine. Motsi Mabuse was left in tears despite saying she promised herself she wouldn’t “cry.” Meanwhile, after receiving her glowing feedback, Punam became emotional while talking to Claudia. “Tell me what it means?” Claudia asked, as Punam struggled to speak. Nearly welling up, Gorka comforted her as she said: “I feel like I would have loved to have seen something like this when I was growing up. And I guess you just can’t be what you can’t see.” Fans watching at home were left bowled over by Punam and Gorka’s performance. Over on X, formerly known as Twitter, one person said: “I am so glad that Punam got to showcase her culture like that, that performance was amazing.” Someone else added: “Bawled at Punam’s dance. So happy for her.” A third penned: “That was SUCH a joyful dance! Punam looked beautiful and the pure joy just shone out of her well done.” Another fan chimed in and wrote: “Punam looks so happy and beautiful I can’t believe how much crying I’ve done.” A fifth said: “Punam was outstanding! Loved the Bollywood number!” Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.