Strictly: Shirley Ballas shuts down claim she’s responsible for Fleur East being in dance-off
Singer found herself in the bottom two for the third time this series
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has shut down critics for suggesting she was responsible for Fleur East landing in the dance-off.
During Saturday night’s show, singer East, who scored the first 40 of the series the week before, scored 35 points for her Rumba.
But despite appearing in the middle of the leaderboard (and just three points lower than Will Mellor, who had the highest score of the night with 38), East found herself in the bottom two on Sunday (27 November) against Ellie Taylor.
All four judges voted to save East and her partner Vito Coppola over Taylor and Johannes Radebe, who’d been at the bottom of the leaderboard with just 25 marks during the live show.
However, on Twitter, one viewer suggested that it was head judge Ballas’s “overmarking” of Mellor and Hamza Yassin that had landed East in the bottom for the third time this series.
“THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU OVERMARK WILL MELLOR AND HAMZA YASSIN AND YOU UNDERMARK MOLLY RAINFORD AND FLEUR EAST!” they tweeted.
Ballas shot back: “No dear this is what happens WHEN YOU DONT VOTE. Full stop the end. Enjoy the rest of the show.”
In her emotional exit speech during Sunday night’s show, a teary-eyed Taylor heaped praise on her partner Radebe.
“You are as wonderful as everyone said you would be, and I’ve said you’re like human sunshine and you really really are,” she said. “You see people and you saw me, at every point.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to dance with you JoJo, I don’t know what runs through your body but it’s not blood, it’s rhythm and it’s music, and to watch you perform is incredible.”
The remaining couples to go through to next week’s show will compete alongside Kym Marsh, who was forced to miss Saturday night’s show after testing positive for Covid.
Next week’s Musicals Week special will take place on Friday (2 November) rather than the usual Saturday night slot, due to the World Cup.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Friday 2 November at 8pm on BBC One.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments