Shirley Ballas 'shifted' the blame for Strictly Come Dancing's controversial result onto viewers, with a very directed comment she made during this weekend's results show.
This series had already had its fair share of shocks before Saturday, after Fleur East and Kym Marsh both landed in the Strictly dance-off over consecutive weeks, despite being nowhere near the bottom of the leaderboard. The 'curse' of finishing in the middle of the standings struck again this weekend, this time claiming Molly Rainford and Jayde Adams as its victims.
Both hadn't been in the dance-off prior to the latest results show but were forced to compete each other to stay in the competition. Molly being in the bottom two was the biggest shock of the night, given that she's been a frequent high scorer and, even though her and pro Carlos Gu had a slightly off week, they still got 30 out of 40.
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing result sees Jayde Adams go home after 'shocking' bottom two
As they always are, this week's Strictly results, actually recorded on Saturday night and not live on Sunday, were delivered in two parts by presenter Tess Daly. And it was before Tess announced the first couples safe and the first in the dance-off, that Shirley made a comment that switched the blame from her and her fellow judges to viewers at home, with the points for each couple based on a combination of judges' marks and viewer votes.
Speaking backstage, Shirley said: "The judges have had their say and now it's ALL down to you at home," pointing her finger down the lens as she added: "Who have YOU put in the bottom two?"
In the end it was Jayde and Karen who were voted off, after Shirley and her colleagues were in agreement about saving Molly and Carlos, as viewers at home were left shocked and upset that either couple were in the dance-off.
This week, Shirley issued a direct response to an online critic who asked how they could 'vote her off' Strictly. Tweeting a dignified reply, Shirley answered: "Hi Tim I’m not sure. But enjoy the show and have a lovely day."
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