The duo admitted it was a shock to see Paul Daniels’ widow in the bottom two before Jonnie Peacock was sent home by the judges.

The actress went on to speak out about claims the panel had been “over-marking” the 59-year-old, following her Samba to a Spice Girls medley.

During their interview with hosts Dan Walker and Louise Minchin, when asked if they had been surprised to see Debbie perform again, Aljaž, 27, commented: “Very much so.

“This whole season there has been shock exits, the first a couple of weeks ago. It just shows you that it is a very open season and you always have to come back every single week.”

Aljaž continued: “Debbie is an incredible dancer and an amazing performer. Giovanni [Pernice] is one of my best mates and you never know who is going to be in the dance-off. All we can do is rehearse as hard as we can and try and not be there.”

Meanwhile, it was a great week for Gemma who found herself second on the leaderboard behind Alexandra Burke thanks to their elegant American Smooth.

But, amid claims of “favouritism” towards Debbie, the 33-year-old admitted: “We always just focus on what we’re doing with our blinkers on… It’s the public ultimately.

“No matter how good a dancer you are or how good you’re progressing, it’s the public that have the decision whether you stay or go. That’s what we have to keep in mind and thank you so much to everyone who has got us this far.”

The pair also remarked on Paralympian Jonnie, claiming he has been “such a gent” throughout the whole process.

Gemma added: “Every week we are there with him and he is such a gentleman, but he’s also got a really funny streak, a dry sense of humour - we’ve had so much fun with him. He’s going to be missed.

BBC Breakfast airs weekdays at 6am on BBC One.