Strictly star Tony Adams addresses his exit from the show

Strictly Come Dancing star Tony Adams has addressed his exit from the show after he was forced to quit due to a hamstring injury this week.

The former Arsenal football player, 56, admitted it had been getting ‘tough’ over the past few weeks before he withdrew after landing in the bottom two during Sunday night’s results show on BBC1.

Speaking on It Takes Two, Tony discussed his jive to Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett, for which he won 24 out of 40 points – the lowest of the night, and said: Roly polys are for six-year-olds, not fifty-year-olds!

‘It’s been getting tough the past couple of weeks, I had a bit of a hammy last week, went out and danced, then on Thursday pointing my toe down, bit of retraction, that’s not done in football, you know, point your toe – I kind of went “ahh!” so we didn’t do anything Friday.

Later during the interview, Tony got emotional as he reflected on his mental health before his time on Strictly following his shock withdrawal from the show. 

Tony got choked up as he referred to his mental health struggles before his time on the hit BBC One dance show.

He said: ‘This has been so good for the awareness of mental health – 26 years ago I should’ve been dead.’

Opening up: Tony Adams got emotional as he reflected on his mental health before his time on Strictly Come Dancing following his shock withdrawal from the show

He appeared to get flustered as he tried to maintain his cool, as his dance partner Katya gave him a loving hug to keep him calm.

Emotional: The former Arsenal football player, 56, got choked up as he referred to his mental health struggles before his time on the hit BBC One dance show

‘Very professional the BBC, Physio was first class.’

‘They said it’s your decicion Tone, do you want to go for it? My wife said, “My mum’s coming, you’ve got to dance.”‘

After he left the show, his wife Poppy spoke out, claiming the 56-year-old football legend was ‘sad’ to pull out – but said he couldn’t keep up with training 10 hours a day and branded him ‘old with a dodgy knee’.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from the couple’s home in Gloucestershire, Poppy, 41, denied that her husband’s decision to quit the show was as a result of a series of furious bust-ups with his partner Katya Jones and said they are ‘both punchy people’. 

Candid: Speaking to Rylan Clark on Strictly It Takes Two, Tony said: ‘This has been so good for the awareness of mental health – 26 years ago I should’ve been dead’

Tough exit: ‘Roly polys are for six-year-olds, not fifty-year-olds!’ Tony said, talking about his jive to Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett, for which he won 24 out of 40 points

She said: ‘Taking part has taken its toll and it was time to drop out. He has gone much further on the show than he had hoped and it was time to leave.’

The BBC refused to explain what the injury was or how it occurred, citing it as a private, medical matter, though there was speculation he had hurt his hamstring, a common complaint for footballers. 

But there were no signs of him hurting himself during his jive to Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett with partner Katya, for which he won 24 out of 40 points – the lowest of the night. 

‘His body can’t take anymore’: Tony Adams sensationally quit Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday evening, pulling out of the contest with an apparent hamstring injury