It's been a tough couple of weeks for Strictly Come Dancing contestant Maisie Smith who, despite securing her highest score of the season and the second highest of the night, ended up in the bottom two for the second time in a row.

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And now, the EastEnders actress has revealed she has received a lot of support and encouragement since her second dance-off, including from former Strictly pro Kevin Clifton.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schoffield on This Morning, Maisie said: "I've had so many messages from previous Strictly contestants and even Kevin just saying, 'Don't take it personally, don't worry about this, this happens to everyone on the show.'

"Everyone goes through up and downs so I'm not letting it get to me. We are still here and we're going to power through."

Before partnering up with Gorka Marquez for this series, Maisie and Kevin danced to victory on Strictly's Children in Need special in 2019, and many viewers believe the judges are being extra harsh on the 19-year-old as a result.

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"I think it can happen to anyone," Maisie added on This Morning. "That's the whole point of the show, you have no idea who's going to be in the bottom two. Every week everyone's like 'What?!' You have no idea who it's going to be. It is hard because no one is expecting it, no one wants it to be them."

Though Maisie has said being in the bottom two felt like she was "dancing for her life", she also revealed the most upsetting thing about it was actually the guilt.

"I'll be honest, I think I was actually more upset that I kind of felt guilty because I felt like I was the one that ended Max [George]and Dianne [Buswell's] journey on the show and the same with Caroline [Quentin], that was what hit me more," she said.

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Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 28th November. Until then, visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or check out our guide to new TV shows 2020 to find out what's airing this autumn and beyond.

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