A Strictly Come Dancing professional has sparked a feud with one of this year's contestants days before the 2022 ballroom show’s finale this weekend.
Professional dancer Joanne Clifton, who left Strictly in 2016, exchanged barbs online with eliminated hopeful Jayde Adams over comments she made about finalist Helen Skelton.
Joanne, 39, shared her thoughts on the confirmed finalists and when suggested what they should be doing this weekend to clinch a win, she insisted Countryfile host Helen, also 39, needed to bolster her confidence.
However, comedian Jayde, 38, who was axed from the line-up alongside pro dancer Karen Hauer in the fifth week of the show, took issue with her comments.
Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Before Strictly Helen was the 2nd woman only, to finish 78-mile Namibian ultra marathon 23h 45. Kayaked the Amazon, tightroped 150m over Battersea Power Station, cycled to the South Pole, TV, radio, sports career & had 3 babies one she birthed herself. Not confident? HAHAHAHA."
Hitting back, Joanne replied: "Not sure about this comment.I’m quite OBVIOUSLY commenting on her confidence in Ballroom dancing,not her life.
"Coz my article is OBVS about Strictly. Maybe we should say positive things,encourage them & celebrate them being Finalists instead of making something negative out of it ?"
This comes after Strictly Come Dancing confirmed its line-up for the 2022 final of the BBC One ballroom show, following Will Mellor’s elimination over the weekend.
The Coronation Street actor landed in the dreaded dance-off during the results show on Monday night, with only Anton du Beke choosing to save him.
The show is now hurtling towards the grand finale next weekend after another glitter-filled run on BBC One, which has faced disruption in recent weeks due to the Qatar World Cup.
The stars that have successfully clinched places in the final are Helen and her pro partner Gorka Marquez as well as Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal, Fleur East and Vito Coppola and Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.
The 20th Strictly final will be hosted by duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman just a week before Christmas on Saturday, December 17, and sitting on the judging panel is Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke.
The 2021 final came in at a whopping run time of 125 minutes, but saw high drama in the final moments as AJ Odudu was forced to pull out due to injury, leaving only two couples remaining.
EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis went on to make history on the show and became the first deaf contestant to win, alongside her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
