Ian Wright defends teammate Tony Adams on ‘brutal’ Strictly

Ian Wright, 59, has shown his support publicly for his ‘captain and leader’ Tony Adams, 56, while the former Arsenal legend takes part in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Speaking on his successful podcast, Wrighty’s House, Ian said that he has to give Tony a ‘maximum amount of respect’ after watching him dance a Salsa on Saturday night while in the studio audience.Ian, who first signed for Arsenal back in 1991 for a cool £2.5million, was spotted by viewers supporting his former teammate, alongside his wife, in the Strictly audience.After Tony and professional dance partner Katya Jones finished last on the leaderboard as their Salsa scored 21 out of 40, the camera turned to Ian, who looked totally bemused.With his hands clasped together, Ian had his mouth open after watching Tony’s dance. Not scoring what he had hoped, Tony went on to explain that he had become ‘too excited’, leading him to forget his steps after starting off the dance DJing in the crowd.After having had time to process what he had witnessed, Ian spoke openly on his podcast for his love for Tony.READ MORE: Joan Collins, 89, almost unrecognisable in transformation as she ditches signature hairdo Ian Wright said that Tony Adams is still in Strictly because of Arsenal fan support (Image: BBC/INSTAGRAM)After singing the Strictly theme tune, he went on to say: ‘I went the other day because Tony Adams, my captain and leader, is in there dancing.’I have to give him a maximum amount of respect because he is totally taking himself out of his comfort zone and he’s doing something that is every single day a massive, massive challenge for him.Joined by Flo Lloyd-Hughes and Jeanette Kwakye, who interjected to say that it looked like Tony was enjoying himself alongside partner Katya Jones in the process, Ian went on to add that he thinks his fellow Arsenal veteran is ‘putting on a brave face”.He said: ‘I think he is putting on a brave face on enjoying it because I think what I saw this week, the way he danced was probably the most nervous he’s been.’DON’T MISS: I’m A Celebrity’s Olivia Attwood breaks silence on show exit as star shuts down claim [INSIGHT]Tony Adams bids emotional farewell as Ellie Simmonds’ shock Strictly exit sparks backlash [LATEST]’Like I went to church in a thong!’ Chloe Madeley relives Meghan and Harry wedding ordeal [CELEBRITY NEWS] Tony Adams and Katya Jones came bottom of the leaderboard last week (Image: ITV) Ian Wright expressed his love for his “captain and leader” Tony Adams (Image: GETTY) Tony Adams called Strictly ‘brutal’ after viewers spotted him arguing with partner Katya Jones (Image: BBC)After posting a clip of Ian explaining this on his Instagram, to his 1.2million followers, hordes of fans flocked to the comments section to agree.User @vanessajanthony wrote: ‘Absolutely- my husband who love Arsenal and not been that fussed about strictly before watches and votes every week to keep Tony in – as does every other gunner it would appear!’And @buddythegermansheperd added: ‘We got to vote for our captain. Plus he’s quite good.’Even Tony himself commented on the social media post, thanking his teammate for his support. He wrote: ‘Love you mate and thanks for the support, it’s brutal…. ‘