Strictly's Shirley Ballas responds to criticism of Sam Quek exit and calls it "childish" to blame the judges
"You the public can vote to save your favourites."
Sunday's Strictly Come Dancing saw a surprising turn of events, when Pete Wicks and his partner Jowita Przystał, who were at the bottom of the leaderboard, were spared from the dance-off by the public vote.
This meant Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin, who had been in second-to-last place, went up against Montell Douglas and her partner Johannes Radebe, who had actually come in fourth place, scoring an impressive 35 points for their dance.
All of this meant that, following the dance-off, Sam and Nikita were eliminated - a result which led to some fans complaining on social media about the judges' scoring.
One fan posted on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X: "So frustrating when the judges can’t mark properly as we then have the wrong people in the dance off & the wrong couple going home.
"Watching the smile fade off Sam’s face after she did well each week was infuriating when her male counterparts had mistakes ignored #strictly."
Head judge Shirley Ballas was quick to post back to defend herself and her fellow judges, quoting the tweet and making clear how the process works.
Read more:
- Strictly Come Dancing pro stole the show without even taking to dance floor
- Strictly fans praise Craig and Anton's Halloween costumes: "Greatest thing to ever happen in Strictly"
"The show has been on over twenty years the public vote makes a difference," she said. "You the public can vote to save your favourites. It gets childish to always blame the judges Lucy."
Ballas, who has been head judge on the show since 2017, recently spoke about how long she intends to stay on the programme, saying she'll stay "until I pop my clogs".
Ballas continued: "Every year, when I’m asked to come back, I have a little think and then I say, 'Yes, thank you.' The only other reason I’d go is if they don’t want me anymore."
The couple at the top of the leaderboard in last week's show was JB Gill and Lauren Oakley - but will they be able to retain that spot come Saturday? Only time will tell.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 9th November at 6:35pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
