Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has hit back at critics following this weekend’s shows, which saw Fleur East in the dance-off on Sunday.
The former X Factor star, who is partnered by Vito Coppola, found herself in the eliminator for the third time this series, but prevailed over Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe to remain in the competition.
Unhappy with the makeup of the bottom two, angry fans accused the judges of undermarking Fleur, reasoning that this was why she ended up in the bottom two.
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“THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU OVERMARK WILL MELLOR AND HAMZA YASSIN AND YOU UNDERMARK MOLLY RAINFORD AND FLEUR EAST!” wrote one person on Twitter.
Shirley, who has been head judge on the BBC show since 2017, pointed out that the dance-off is determined by a public vote in her reply, writing: “No dear this is what happens WHEN YOU DONT VOTE. Full stop the end. Enjoy the rest of the show.”
Saturday’s live show saw Will Mellor top the leaderboard after scoring 38 points for a Charleston, with Hamza Yassin following closely behind on 37 for an Argentine Tango. Molly Rainford and Fleur both scored 35 for the Tango and Rumba respectively.
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It isn’t the first time Shirley has come under fire this series, with the judge being accused of favouritism and receiving abuse over the looks of both her and her son, Mark.
She recently commented on how the criticism had affected her, saying that while everybody is entitled to their opinion, some of the personal comments have been “cruel”.
“Like I say you don’t have to agree… 'It’s OK, I didn’t agree with your mark, you sent the wrong person home'. I’m fine with that,” she said. “But when it gets personal, that's cruel.
“The names I’ve been called! I couldn’t even repeat them to you. [I’m] emotional and low and I’m not going to lie to you, it did affect me this year for sure. I have [been to the doctor].”
For one week only, Strictly Come Dancing airs on Friday (December 2) at 8pm on BBC One, with a results show on Saturday (December 3) at 5.40pm. Spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.
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