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Cape Town - Top 4 finalist Ashish Gangapersad bowed out of Strictly Come Dancing SA in a nerve-wracking results show on Saturday night.
Unfortunately, Ashish’s luck ran out on Saturday evening but the former Isidingo actor left with a smile on his face. "It has been one of the most amazing journeys of my entire life."
A Channel24 quickie is a brief or spontaneous episode consisting of five frisky questions in which celebs and Channel24 have a brief frolic leaving all parties involved feeling satisfied and craving a cigarette.
We chatted to Ashish about remembering his dance moves, his favourite judges and what's next in line for him.
Channel24:
How did being in the bottom two, week after week, affect you in the competition?
Ashish:
It was very disheartening always being last, because when you head back into rehearsal not only do you have to deal with the physical aspect of becoming better but emotionally you also have to try and stay positive.
Being told we don’t belong or not good enough, the odds were definitely against us but the public vote carried us through and that helped a lot!
Channel24:
Do you still remember the moves to the first dance you learned for episode1?
Ashish:
Yes, I remember it was the Cha-Cha and I believe I can still do it perfectly.
I am lucky because I remembered all the moves to all the dances I learned easily so I would like to keep doing them. Especially from a fitness point of view.
I will keep doing cardio and strength building, but if the studio at the gym is open I will put one of the songs on and dance.
Channel24:
Who was your favourite judge?
Ashish:
I don’t know about a favourite, but yes Tebogo I definitely thought was the most fair in terms of actually judging and scoring.
We all know that Micheal didn’t like us at all and we just came to terms with that.
Over time I think we won Samantha over. She always looked at the theatrical aspects which helped us with our different themes and props. So yes, I would say Tebogo from a technical side and Samantha from a more theatrical side are the two judges I liked most.
Channel24:
What has been the most memorable moment on the show for you?
Ashish:
It's difficult to point to one specific moment. The worst was definitely having remembered all of my steps until episode 8 when I forgot one step in the Samba but I knew it was my fault and we definitely took a lot of criticism for it.
The best I would have to say was in episode 9. I was so excited to do the Joker scene and get into costume and dance the Tango, it was really a lot of fun and I would do it again!
The Tango was the silver lining to leaving the show.
Channel24:
What is next for you, do you have anything big and exciting coming up?
Ashish:
I am not going back to Isidingo, because I feel that too often South African actors find something and stick to it for years and years. But I feel that I need to expand rather than stick to one role, the unfortunate thing in South Africa is that there are very limited acting opportunities.
I will however be producing a new series called f-LAW-ed, as from late November or early January. Think of a mix between The Fixer, Suits and Ally McBeal. I am also working on a new movie set for release next year that will go in the direction of a dark super-hero thriller so keep an eye out.
The special two-hour finale of Strictly SA will be broadcast on SABC3 on Friday at 20:00. The Strictly Come Dancing 2014 winner will be announced during the show. There will be no results show on Saturday night.
