Matthew MacNabb and pro-dancer Laura Nolan topped the leaderboard on Sunday night’s Dancing with the Stars for the first time. It was ‘Dedicated Dance Week’ which meant that all the couples dedicated their performances to someone special in their lives.
They were the last to perform on the show this week and Matthew dedicated their performance to his close friend, Ryan who passed away last summer just days before he entered the Love Island villa.
Matthew has since taken to Instagram to share how much the performance meant to him saying;
“When Ryan passed, I said I wish I could give him the celebration he deserves. Well last night, I did that and for me that meant more to me than anything else.
“Since Ryan’s passing, I felt like I didn’t get the chance to process it properly. I didn’t have the mental space to go deep inside. Truth be told, I was using life to avoid experiencing those emotions. This dance allowed me to actually celebrate my friend and to thank him for the impact he had on my life.
“I could write about how special Ryan was and how much he meant to me but I think you all seen that in my dance last night. That was for him and all our friends in San Diego.
“Ryan was with me last night, nobody can tell me otherwise. My heart is full.
“Big thank you to @dwtsirl @shinawil_ltd and @rteone for allowing me to perform this. In particular, @ianbanham for helping every step of the way.
“The biggest thank you goes to the most amazing lady @la_nolan. She knows how much this meant to me and she choreographed the most beautiful dance possible. #DWTS #DWTSIRL”
They danced a contemporary ballroom dance to ‘See You Again’ by Charlie Puth. An emotional Matthew shared; “We had such special memories, he was such a special person. I was in Love Island quarantine when he passed away so I wasn’t able to go to his funeral so this was my dedication to him.”
Matthew and Laura scored a 26 from the judges which, when combined with the public vote, made them top of the leaderboard. The twist on Sunday night’s show was that whichever couple scored highest would have a free pass from next week’s first dreaded dance-off of series 5, fast-tracking Big Band Orchestra week which takes place in two weeks’ time.