The 26-year-old came second on the leader board, along with dance partner Kristy, after glowing reviews from the judges.
But in the end, after sailing through the competition to the penultimate week, the pair did not manage to secure enough votes to get them through to the final.
'However, my favourite couple won the competition,' said Nathan.
'I said from the beginning that Sadie and Joseph were brilliant. And my second favourite couple, Danny and Jody, came second. They were amazing dancers. But it was good to leave on a high, instead of languishing at the bottom of the board.
'It was a close call. Even though the judges were giving us points, we always knew it was going to be the viewers' choice.
'I knew I had great support on the south coast, but even when I came out of the house for the weekend the first thing people said was 'How are you?' and the second was 'What is Claire like?'
'She was very popular – and I think they had the whole of Scotland voting for them!
'But I had a fantastic experience and never thought I would get this far. I thought we would go out in the first week, but we stayed for nine.
'The high point was the whole experience and the low point was getting injured. We did have some terrible weeks, but it was fantastic to just be able to dance all day and work with top professionals.
'Also meeting Sadie Flower (who won the show with partner Joseph) was a high point. She was extremely sweet. She looked like a tough cookie when I first met her, but she was lovely.
'And, of course, meeting Kristy and Graham Norton and Bonnie Langford.'
Nathan said he has been in 'a bubble' for the last nine weeks, but is 'adjusting fine' to being back in the outside world – and is thrilled with all the support he has received from people in Eastbourne.
'It is all a bit strange, but it is great to have my own space and not to have to share toilets! It is really nice to have some privacy again.'
He is currently busy sending out showreels after being bombarded with requests and is 'in talks' about future dance prospects.
'Obviously I would like to pursue dancing, but lots of other avenues have opened up as well. I did a bit of presenting.
'I know everyone who does reality TV says they want to be a presenter, but people have told me that I am good at it.
'I have spoken to a lot of people in the business who tell me I should have a go at it. But there are lots of different things I would like to do.'
While Nathan juggles his career options, he is thrilled to be back teaching dance to local youngsters. He hopes his success in the show will have boosted both his own pupils, and other dance fans in Eastbourne who may now take up dancing or pursue a professional career. And certainly his students at Stagecoach have been following his progress avidly, making t-shirts with their dance hero on and sending him their best wishes when he was injured.
Nathan is very keen to set up a professional showcase for local dancers to show off their talent, helped by Nathan and other choreographers and teachers.
'Parents can spend thousands of pounds on dance lessons for their children from the age of seven, but then they often given up at about 15.
'Hopefully, I can encourage some of them to keep going. Eastbourne has an amazing amount of talent.'
Despite not scooping the top prize of a professional dance contract and £50,000, Nathan says the show gave him 'excellent training'.
'I have spoken to professional West End dancers who say they couldn't do what we have done over the past nine weeks.
'They said they couldn't tackle new dances every week without being afraid of looking like a fool on national television.
'We have had just six hours with a professional and then had to choreograph and sort out the dances ourselves.
'It is excellent practice and I can get hold of new dances far more quickly than I used to. It took a lot of effort and it really opened my eyes.'
Nathan still has a lot of respect for the show's judging panel who he says 'really know their stuff'.
'I did not agree with them sometimes, and I did not like some of them, but they are professionals at the end of the day.
'In this business you will get knock-backs. It is the kind of business where for every Nathan there are 20 Nathans standing behind you waiting to fill your shoes if you fall over.
'If I could not have danced the week after being injured, Toby would have danced in my place and that was hard to deal with.
'I could not do the sort of dancing I am known for, with lots of jumps, but I managed to do it and I did not say anything about my injury to the judges, unlike some of the other contestants.'
Despite the pressure of the competition, all the dancers managed to remain friends.
'We all did get along very well,' said Nathan. 'There were points when we had a falling out, but we just got on with it and sorted it out.'
He said he was 'chuffed' that dance partner Kristy landed a job on the tour with Grease and says although the couple danced well together, they had no plans to continue as a team.
'She is a lovely girl, but we are chalk and cheese really. We will stay in touch, but it was never the situation like with Danny and Jody or Joseph and Sadie who will carrying on dancing together.'