Strictly Come Dancing star Shirley Ballas was supported by her co-stars as she said, “I’m getting choked up”.

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The popular BBC dance competition returned to our screens on Saturday night (December 13), with hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman welcoming the final four couples back to the ballroom for the eagerly awaited semi-final.

Shirley, along with her fellow judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, and Craig Revel Horwood, were all set to assess the performances, in preparation for next week’s grand finale.

During the show, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu performed a Waltz to Whitney Houston’s One Moment in Time, with both becoming visibly emotional following their routine.

The judges were also moved by Karen’s journey on the show, with a tearful Anton admitting: “I got a bit emotional, I had to keep my glasses on… I mean this in the nicest possible way, I never thought you’d be capable of doing something like that,” reports Wales Online.

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Shirley Ballas became emotional on Saturday night(Image: BBC)

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“I never thought for a second that you could dance like that. I know what you can do, you can do crash, bang, wallop. I never thought you could do that quality, that softness, that sensitivity.”

He added: “You came into this competition with a certain aptitude for a style of dancing, we saw that in week one with your Jive. You’ve carried those qualities on into other dances Look at the state of me, I’m an emotional wreck.

“This is your journey, being able to produce this quality of dancing. My heart skips a beat when I see this, this is beautiful and I love you for this. Congratulations, that was amazing.”

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Shirley added: “I just find it all so overwhelming. Weeks, months, hours you’ve spent, all of you, in the studio to bring your very best. To bring this kind of performance, Karen, is absolutely fantastic.”

The head judge then became tearful, with Motsi offering her support. Shirley added: “I’m getting choked up again… We never thought we’d see that, so thank you to Strictly and thank you to you for showing us what you can do.”

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Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu performed a Waltz(Image: BBC)

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In the Clauditorium, Carlos also broke down in tears, saying: “I wanted us to do this dance for each other and for the journey that we had. It’s a moment for us, let’s cherish our moment together.”

The pair then scored an impressive 39 points from the judges. This comes after bookmakers’ odds revealed that Karen and Carlos could miss out on lifting the Glitterball Trophy.

Karen, who was the bookies’ favourite to win the show, could be beaten by George Clarke. The YouTuber has been given odds of 5/6 of winning, while Karen is in second place with odds of 11/10.

Balvinder Sopal, who has been the bookies’ favourite to leave for weeks, could now come in third place with odds of 20/1. This also means that Amber Davies, who landed in the dance-off last week, could miss out on making the final, despite consistently topping the leaderboard.

Last weekend, Amber and her partner Nikita Kuzmin defeated Lewis Cope and Katya Jones in the dance-off, with Lewis’s departure being branded one of the “worst exits” in Strictly history.