Star abruptly quits Dancing With The Stars

One of the most well-known contestants on this season of Dancing With The Stars has stunned fans with his decision to leave the show.

Dancing With The Stars viewers were left reeling by celebrity chef Matt Preston’s shock decision to quit on Sunday night, in a series first.

The ex-MasterChef judge had landed in the bottom two and was facing a dance-off against former AFL star Gavin Wanganeen to remain in the competition when he made the announcement.

“I’ve loved everything about this, but my ankle is cooked,” Preston told hosts Daryl Somers and Sonia Kruger.

“I can’t dance again tonight so what I want to do is to concede and give the win to Gavin, who did brilliantly today and I’m so proud to be doing this for you, brother.”

Preston and his dance partner, Jessica Raffa, are now out of the competition.

A shocked Somers then told Preston that they’ve “never had this happen” before asking the judges to weigh in on his decision.

“I mean, injuries happen and there’s nothing you can do about that,” Craig Revel Horwood said.

The group was stunned by his decision.

“I’ve been a dancer all my life, if you’re injured you shouldn’t dance on an injury – so Matt, I think you’ve made the right decision. Sad to see you go, but Gavin, darling welcome, for you get another life on the show now.”

“You’re absolutely doing the right thing and thank you for giving us determination and your courage, you’ve been wonderful,” Sharna Burgess agreed.

“And I’m gonna give you a big hug after the show.”

He landed in the bottom two and was facing a dance-off prior to his announcement.

In a candid interview on the Stellar podcast “Something To Talk About” recently, Preston opened up about his reasons for joining the dancing competition, explaining he wanted to do something well out of his comfort zone.

“An opportunity like Dancing comes along and you go, ‘I don’t need to do it.’ And then you go, ‘Well, let’s have a crack.’,” he said.

“There’s one word that I keep hearing a lot from certain people of a certain age who’ve achieved a lot, and that’s the fear of ‘humiliation’. I think this is a really debilitating idea, this idea that your children are going to think less of you or your friends are going to joke about you.

“Humiliation is just an anxiety that really has no place in the modern world.”