FORMER Strictly star Dan Walker has suggested that the BBC show is fixed, after his ex-professional partner, Nadiya Bychokova and her celebrity, Olympic gold medallist, Tom Dean were the first to be voted off.
The swimming ace found himself in the dance-off with singer Toyah Wilcox, but after the panel was initially divided, head judge Shirley Ballas chose to save Toyah in last night’s elimination.
News anchor and presenter Dan Walker has spoken of his disappointment at last nights result[/caption]
Dan was partnered with Nadiya in 2021 finishing in fifth place[/caption]
But now Channel 5 news anchor Dan, who competed on the show in 2021, has branded the decision, “messed up.”
In a candid post he said: “What just happened on Strictly feels a bit messed up,”
He said: “Tom Dean’s departure will go down as one of THE early shocks. Lovely bloke who really could have become a great dancer. He looked like he was loving every second of it and Nadiya Bychokova looked like she loved teaching him.”
The news man was obviously disappointed on behalf of his former partner with whom he has remained friends since he appeared on the show, finishing in 5th place.
He continued: “I’m not an expert – and I’m happy for someone to explain – but how he lost that dance off is completely beyond my comprehension,” he continued. “Genuinely thought they could have gone a long way.”
And it seems that many people share his views.
One said “Gutted for Tom and Nadiya. I really think Tom would’ve improved. Didn’t deserve to go out first.”
Another said: Terrible decision, there was no jive in that ‘jive’, Tom deserved better!!
Meanwhile another said: “I’m with you Dan, awful decisions from the judges and you could even see that Toyah thought she was going, her dancing wasn’t good. It’s this sort of thing that really gets to the viewers.’
And another added: “I agree with you. I do dance. A lot more content in Tom’s routine. Sure he had some timing issues and Toyah did put a lot into the performance aspect, but IMO he was much closer to learning and performing the designated dance style, which surely is the main point of the show.’
After the difficult dance off, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse saved Toyah and Neil, while Anton Du Beke voted in favour of Tom and Nadiya.
But ultimately, the decision was left in the hands of head judge Shirley, who opted to save Toyah and Neil.
Following the episode, which was pre-recorded on Saturday, a downcast Nadiya took to Instagram to share an emotional post, cryptically alluding to suggestions that the result was a fix.
She said: “ “I really appreciate all the messages but I’m not ready to talk about what happened tonight just yet.”
Reflecting on his own experience, Tom, who looked visibly disappointed, said afterwards: “I’ve had the best time the last few weeks and getting to work with Nadiya has been incredible.
I wish I could have gone further and done more dances. I’ve had the most fun and I wish we could keep going longer and longer. We’ll still go out for loads of brunches I’m sure.”
Strictly Come Dancing’s Second Week Scores
As is tradition, the first week scores are rolled over and combined into the second week. Here’s how the leaderboard now looks after the combined scores
- Tasha and Aljaz = 65 (30+35)
- Sarah and Vito = 62 (30+32)
- JB and Amy = 58 (31+27)
- Montell and Johannes = 56 (26+30)
- Wynne and Katya = 56 (26+30)
- Shayne and Nancy = 52 (21+31)
- Chris and Dianne = 52 (23+29)
- Jamie and Michelle = 50 (23+27)
- Sam and Nikita = 45 (23+22)
- Tom and Nadiya = 43 (23+20)
- Nick and Luba = 39 (18+21)
- Pete and Jowita = 39 (17+22)
- Dr Punam and Gorka = 37 (19+18)
- Paul and Karen = 32 (17+15)
- Toyah and Neil = 30 (12+18)
Head judge Shirley had the final say and opted to save Toyah Wilcox[/caption]
Nadiya and Tom were extremely disappointed to be voted out[/caption]
Nadiya and Dan formed one of Strictly most exciting partnerships[/caption]
