Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left in shock as Fleur East and Richie Anderson landed in the bottom two this week – sparking accusations of racism among the voting public.
Former The X Factor star Fleur, 34, danced the American Smooth with Vito Coppola to The Little Mermaid's Part Of Your World.
Meanwhile, Richie and his dance partner Giovanni Pernice performed a Samba to Lion King's Hakuna Matata.
Before the performance Fleur, who portrayed Ariel in the dance, discussed the importance of representation ahead of the 2023 release of live action version of the Disney film, where Halle Bailey plays the lead character.
Fleur said: "I’m going to be Ariel, Vito is Prince Eric and what makes it even more exciting is that in May next year the new remake of The Little Mermaid is coming out.
"The trailer for the film went viral recently because Ariel is played by Halle Bailey who is a Black girl, so for the first time Ariel is going to be played by a woman of colour.
"This representation is huge and you can see that from the video compilation that went viral of all these little girls watching the trailer and saying, ‘Mummy, Ariel looks like me.’ It just shows why this representation is so important and weirdly I’m going to play Ariel before Halle gets to play her," she added to The Independent.
Fleur put on a dazzling performance with Vito, 30, and received a total on 29 points from judges – landing her in the middle of the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, 34-year-old Richie and Giovanni, 32, who dressed as Timon and Pumbaa for their performance, were given 27 points from the impressed judges.
Viewers were left in shock as it was revealed Fleur and Richie had landed in the bottom two after the public vote. And viewers had to say goodbye to Richie who was eliminated from the competition as the judges voted to save Fleur.
Fluer, who broken down backstage after the dance off, has since shared her reaction to the weekend's vote as she told Hits Radio: "I couldn’t believe it. Of course, you know someone is going to be called but as soon as you hear your name it’s like ‘oh no’. There was so much technique in my dance and three terrifying lifts and I remember after I’d danced on Saturday I was like ‘phew, done it now, I can relax a little bit and think about the next dance’.
"But as soon as I knew I was in the bottom two I thought ‘Oh no I’ve got to do it again. I’ve got to do all those lifts again. And with added pressure!’ So, I was very nervous; very, very nervous.
"Vito just looked at me and said, ‘well you get to be Ariel again’ and it is an amazing dance to dance, so it’s really cool that I got to do it again and I guess that’s what I’m going to take as a positive."
She added: "I’m so happy and grateful that the judges saved us as I’m not ready to stop dancing with Vito. We’re just getting started!"
And speaking after being voted off the show, radio DJ Richie said: "Do you know what as a Strictly fan I always thought it was a magical thing to be a part of.
"I also want to thank this guy [Giovanni] as well, he’s been so amazing, and i feel so lucky that I’ve got to dance with you every day.
"Not only are you a fantastic dancer but you are also a fantastic guy on top of that. I want to thank all my family and friends and my other half Dean who is in the audience, I love you so much."
Meanwhile, some viewers took to Twitter to share their outrage and accused the voting public of racism.
One wrote: "I kind of wonder if it's because of the (admittedly stupid) controversy regarding a black Ariel in Disney's live-action Little Mermaid. People might have seen Fleur East portraying Ariel on Strictly too and decided not to vote for her, because of their racist views. #Strictly".
"Racist Britain alive and well. So sad that Fleur and him were in the bottom two," another penned.
Another added: "I see the racist BBC voting public turned up again for Strictly - I jokingly said I wonder which two people of colour the voting public would put in the dance off. I didn’t expect to be proven right outrageous Fleur was in the dance off! #Strictly".
"Strictly voters are racist, Fleur had NO business being in the dance off I am FUMING," a third said.
Meanwhile, a fourth added: "I said as soon as I saw her in that Ariel outfit last night I knew the public wouldn’t vote for Fleur. Seeing her in that #Strictly dance off was heartbreaking but sadly it’s a big thing with the film and a disgusting proportion of the British public are comfortable being racist".
Another viewer penned: "Absolutely dreadful result, should not have been in the bottom 2, neither couple should have. Terrible strictly.."
"Seems you can’t even dance for 2 minutes as a Little Black Mermaid without the racist hordes rearing their ugly heads. On no planet did Fleur deserve to be in the bottom 2 #strictly," another penned.
A disgruntled viewer chimed: "So depressed by the bottom two in the dance-off last night on #Strictly. No WAY should it have been Fleur or Richie. I've said it for years and I'll say it again: it is 100% racism (whether conscious or subconscious) driving the British public's votes."
"The moment I saw Fleur do black Ariel I knew the racists would put her in the bottom 2 on #Strictly she deserves better," another suggested.
The BBC declined to comment when contacted by the Mirror.
The Hits Radio Breakfast Show with Fleur East. Listen live at hitsradio.co.uk .
