I had a meltdown dance-off..in the

EastEnders star is 'crushed' by public rejection blow

- BY NICOLA METHVEN

SHE bounced back from her first Strictly Come Dancing dance-off with a paso doble that got her 28 points from the judges.

But EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal admits she felt "crushed" with rejection after finding herself in the bottom two for the second week running.

"I've had meltdowns and things," she says, revealing it has been hard to stay positive. "And I'm like, 'holy hell - I've been lying about being optimistic'.

"I beat myself up and I'm sometimes a little bit derogatory but there's no need to be that way.

"When you get on that floor, there is a fear of judgment and rejection. But what I have to remember is that I've put myself there."

Despite getting solid scores for each of her last two dances, Balvinder didn't pick up enough votes from viewers at home to avoid being in the bottom two. For the second time, she was saved by judges, with Scot Ross King then Chris Robshaw sent packing.

But remembering the moment she found out the bad news for a second time, Balvinder says:

"My heart sank. I thought we'd done enough to come back. I was crushed."

Last Saturday's final result was a close-run thing, and viewers know that if head judge Shirley Ballas still had the casting vote, Balvinder would be a goner.

Luckily for her, that duty fell to Craig Revel Horwood.

"I'm so grateful to Craig and he's one of the scariest judges," Balvinder says. "He saved us and I can't thank him enough."