Amy Dowden could see the tears in the eyes of partner Karim Zeroual after their last Strictly Come Dancing performance.

The CBBC star became emotional, feeling he had metaphorically “missed a penalty” with his dance, despite earning a respectable score.

Zeroual was not happy with his missteps during his Viennese waltz last weekend.

Speaking ahead of the Blackpool live show at the Tower Ballroom, his partner Dowden said she could see him welling up.

She told the PA news agency: “I could see even before we went over to the judges, I could see. His eyes were filling up.”

Zeroual has likened missing his steps to missing a penalty kick, and said his high emotions shocked him.

He said: “I was surprised actually. The reason I got emotional is because we worked so hard each week.

“Me messing up, it was so annoying. I was more upset at myself.

“It’s a match day kind of vibe, and you go out there and you miss a penalty. That’s what it kind of felt like, I was just gutted.”

Dowden said his emotions were: “Just a bit of frustration.”

The pair return to the Strictly dance floor on Saturday on BBC One at 7.05pm.