EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier has said that he feels "excited and grateful" for getting the chance to take part in Strictly Come Dancing.
The model and actor is due to compete in the semi-final this Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Essex, Brazier said he wanted to be on Strictly "to the fullest extent, for the longest time and go on that journey".
He said: "To get to the final and as far as you possibly can - that box would be ticked."
His professional dance partner Dianne Buswell said she knew she wanted to work with Brazier, adding: "When I saw him he had so much joy naturally".
"When the music played, he just wanted to dance and I saw so much passion and he maybe wasn't the best dancer in the group, but what I did see was so much talent - and I knew that with a little bit of coaching he would be brilliant and I have been proven to be right," she said.
"We are so close and to be pipped at the post now, would be really disheartening."
The 20-year-old received a standing ovation for his Couple's Choice routine to the song This Woman's Work, which was dedicated to his mother reality TV star Jade Goody, who died in 2009 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The Strictly Come Dancing semi-final will air on 9 December at 7.35pm on BBC One.
