He may have been told he dances like a geek on live TV, but that hasn't taken the sparkle off Strictly Come Dancing for Bath swimmer Mark Foster.

The five-time Olympian was booted off the BBC 1 show on Sunday after his paso doble failed to seduce the judging panel.

But even being shown up as a fish out of water in front of more than 10 million viewers has not put the 38-year-old off pursuing a career in TV.

He freely admits his "pecs appeal" and promises to dance in his swimming trunks if he made the final were what might have kept in the competition so long.

He told the Western Daily Press: "I'm gutted to leave. I was feeling really emotional after the show on Sunday. I'm really going to miss the whole thing as I loved absolutely every bit of it, even the criticism.

I loved ballroom but the aggression of the Latin was not me contestant Mark Foster

"I had a funny feeling when we came onto the set that it was going to be us, as all week I had been struggling with the dance. I loved ballroom but the aggression of the Latin dances was not really me – I think I'm a bit too much of a nice guy for that. I don't have an ounce of aggression in me."

True to form, Mark would not be drawn on any backstage gossip, merely saying that he had made "great" friends in Andrew Castle, Lisa Snowdon, Jodie Kidd, Heather Small and Christine Bleakley and would be happy for any of them to win.

But he still reckons the final will be between Tom Chambers and Austin Healey.

He said: "Tom's the better dancer but I think Austin has the public's support."

Having flown straight from Beijing into rehearsals, Foster says he now hopes to take some time out to relax. Despite this, he revealed more TV appearances were in the pipeline, and although he wouldn't say which, he didn't rule out appearing in something like I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. He said: "I'll never say never to anything – it's worth trying things before you decide.

"Obviously it's a relief to have some time to myself, but I do miss the show and I'm going to take them all out next Saturday to say thanks."

He plans to spend a month with friends in Miami over Christmas and will be travelling to New York for a modelling contract in February.

He will also be working to promote his new sports nutrition company Perfect UK, in conjunction with friends Sharon Davis and Colin Jackson. He said: "I'm really keen to educate people about the importance of healthy lifestyles and exercise – maybe I could team up with Jamie Oliver or something."

Mark also refused to rule out a return to professional sport, or even London 2012.

He said: "I'd love to get to 50 international appearances and at the moment I'm at 47, so we'll see what happens.

Although the Olympian failed to impress judges with his paso doble, he delighted audience members by ripping off his sequinned shirt. Mark said he was sorry to let partner Hayley Holt down.

On Sunday Judge Bruno Tonioli said: "Painful shambles. You look like a God, but you dance like a geek. You couldn't put all the shapes together with the music."