He wowed with his waltz, sizzled with his samba and had been one of the favourites to take the Strictly Come Dancing crown – but Austin Healey has been kicked out of the competition.

The former Leicester Tigers and England star said he was disappointed to be given the boot, but described his time on the hit BBC show as one of "the best experiences of my life".

Despite being the bookies' favourite to win early on, when he achieved consistent high scores, the formidable judges started to get tough as the weeks went on and other contestants improved.

Austin and his partner Erin Boag slipped to the bottom of the scoreboard after performing the salsa and the American smooth on Saturday.

Following the public vote, the couple found themselves in the dreaded dance-off with TV presenter Lisa Snowdon and her partner Brendan Cole – and judges sent Austin home.

Austin said: "Obviously, I was disappointed with the result, because we put so much effort in and had a lot of support from the public.

"I thought the American smooth went well, so to get the remarks and scores we did – I was gobsmacked. I think Erin felt the same."

The judges gave the couple a total of 34 out of 40 for their first performance. For the salsa, they got 36.

However, judge Craig Revel Horwood said he was "bored" by parts of the American smooth.

"I'm used to your pizzazz and I felt you didn't invest in the Hollywood pizzazz," he said.

When asked whether he thought the judges were harsh on him because of his high-scoring dances early on in the show, Austin said: "I've read in some places that I started off so well because I had had dance training before, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"I was just fortunate I managed to pick it up so quickly.

"It's difficult when maybe people expect more of you. I thought I had improved, though."

However, despite missing out on next week's semi-final, Austin said he had a wonderful time on the show.

"It's been absolutely amazing, one of the best experiences I've ever had," he said.

"It just feels like it's ended too abruptly, which is a bit sad.

"The show wasn't something I had really wanted to do.

"I spoke to my family about it and decided they wanted me to do it more than I did.

"I've loved every second of it and made really good friends in Erin and her fiancé.

"It's been great to meet a lot of the professional dancers and the contestants. I've had a really good time. It seems to have gone so quickly."

Austin is backing Holby City actor Tom Chambers to emerge as the winner of the series.

"I want Tom to win," he said. "I want Tom to be in the final with Rachel. It's too hard to call, though.

"This is the first day I'm not practising, which feels a bit weird. I keep expecting to have to get my dance shoes.

"I'm sure the first few days will feel quite strange."