Brian Conley has said the minutes after his elimination from Strictly Come Dancing were “like a funeral” and he was anxious to diffuse the situation by cracking jokes about the judges and the show’s toilet facilities.

The entertainer lost out in the dance-off to TV chef Simon Rimmer at the weekend and said he wanted to cheer up people who were sad to see him go.

He denied his exit speech was a “rant”, adding: “I was having a laugh and that is all it was, it was a wonderful time.”

Strictly Come Dancing 2017
Simon Rimmer and partner Karen Clifton and Brian Conley with Amy Dowden (Guy Levy/BBC)

He told ITV’s Lorraine: “At the end of the show there was a whole audience there, it was a funeral really and I wanted to diffuse the situation.

“Typical me, I’m an entertainer, I wanted to make people laugh.”

He continued: “The judges looked so miserable and upset that I said ‘I want you all to know I love this man’, talking to Craig, and then Darcey was really emotional and she looked very upset, and I didn’t know what to say.

“Just to cheer her up, I said ‘Darcey, you’re very horny’, and of course everyone laughed and it was a bit of fun.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017
Conley and Dowden performing during the show (Guy Levy/BBC)

“And then I said: ‘But there is one thing that really upsets me, being on this show, it’s the toilets’, because everyone thought I was going to say something profound.

“I said ‘It’s the toilets, they have got to sort them out. Just buy 10 quid’s worth of bleach to get rid of that smell’. And that was that.

“And then I thanked my brother, because my brother is the floor manager, he’s been there right from the beginning, and I said the wonderful thing about being on this show is that every single person has come up to me and said ‘I love your brother’ and it meant so much and made me realise how respected and loved he is.”

Conley denied he wanted to be axed from the show because of a commitment to a pantomime, pointing out his theatre run does not start until the last week of Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017
Conley being comforted by the rest of the cast (Guy Levy/BBC)

He said: “That is the last week, am I ever going to be in the last week in the final up against, who knows, Aston (Merrygold)?

“I can’t even walk as good as Aston, let alone dance.”

He added: “I’ve taken all this time off so if anyone needs a fete opening, I am available.”

Conley also cracked a joke about people mistaking him for a new Doctor Who companion, saying: “I am not taking over in Doctor Who, which is what everyone has assumed now, that’s Bradley Walsh.”