Ashley Roberts, 37, impressed audiences with her performances alongside her dance partner Pasha Kovalev, 38, but it was not enough to secure the coveted Gliterball trophy. The former Pussycat Doll has since spoken out after her co-star Stacey Dooley was crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing with Kevin Clifton. Taking to Instagram, Ashley shared an snap of herself with Pasha of them mid-performance. She told her 372,000 followers: “What.A.Ride! I can’t even begin to explain the spectrum of emotions I felt being a part of this show.
“I look back feeling a sense of pride. @pashakovalev you have been my partner, friend and teacher throughout this entire series and you’ve reminded me how much I love to dance and perform.”
Ashley continued: “I am so honoured to have shared the stage with you! Skadooosh my friend.”
The star thanked her family for their support as she added: “Thank you to my friends, family and management for always having my back and reminding me to keep my head up.
“And thank you to all of you who sent positive messages of support and encouragement.
Ashley continued: “And to @bbcstrictly for asking me to be a part of your magical show! I just hoped ya like what we were serving up sunni. Love ya’s.”
She finished: “I’m gonna go chill real hard now. Real hard.”
Fans bombarded the blonde beauty with praise as one fan wrote: “Ashley you will always be my winner. Your dances were amazing.”
A second person replied: “You was amazing Ashley. Loved you from the very start. Best dancer by far.”
The former Pussycat Doll also spoken out about Stacey’s win on her Instagram story.
She wrote on a picture of Stacey and Kevin: “Congrats my beautiful friends. Well deserved. Love you.”
Ashley performed three dances on the night where she and Pasha scored perfect scores of 120.
Despite being joint top of the leaderboard alongside Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice, it was the documentary filmmaker Stacey who won the show.
The journalist and her dance partner Kevin finished the night with 114 points but secured the public’s vote which led them to Strictly victory.
Strictly Come Dancing 2018 final is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.