Strictly Come Dancing hunk Kai Widdrington has shut down “fix” rumours as he defended the judges’ decision to send Angela Rippon to Blackpool.
Over the weekend, the beloved TV presenter found herself in the dreaded dance-off against Krishnan Guru-Murthy. The dancing duo were forced to perform their Paso Doble to Hung Up by Madonna for a second time against the Channel 4 broadcaster.
Luckily, the pair managed to secure their place in next week’s show after Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood voted for her to stay. But not everyone was happy with the result, with many viewers flooded to social media to accuse the BBC show of “fixing” the competition.
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Many pointed out that the judges were keeping her in the competition so that she could perform in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom dur to her special connection to the northern city. Loyal fans will know the 79-year-old hosted the original Come Dancing from the famous ballroom decades ago.
(Image: PA)
One user fumed: “So Craig gives Angela R and Ellie the same score on # Strictly!!! Fix.” Another pointed out: “Actually cba to watch Strictly now. The favouritism and blatant fix to get Angela to Blackpool is a f***ing joke.
“She was stomping and hunched over like a Disney villain, made a mistake but the judges were praising her like she smashed it. @bbcstrictly sort it out #strictly,” they argued. Now, the 28-year-old pro dancer has hit back at trolls online during an appearance on It Takes Two on Tuesday (November 14).
When host Fleur East asked them about their performance, Angela said: “The dance was quite different from anything we’ve done before. People expect it to be a strong dance with a strong body and technical footwork, but there’s passionate and timing and that’s what we sort of cracked.”
(Image: PA)
Later on in the interview, the presenter pointed out that their chance of going to Blackpool was riding on that dance. Kai argued: “Angela’s been there before, we were there the week before.
“There was no way on earth I was letting you go home even if we completely fell off the [side of the dancefloor]. We did enough, we had a good score. I think you deserved your place at Blackpool.”
He wasn’t the only star to jump to the defence of the TV legend. On Tuesday, Craig Revel Horwood clapped back at a viewer who claimed he was deliberately marking Layton Williams down in her favour.
(Image: PA)
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The longest-standing judge was subject to a mass of boos on Saturday night (November 11) when he was the only judge not to award the Bad Education star a perfect 10. Fans online also shared their frustration at his score, with one user suggesting that he did it in order to keep the broadcaster in the show.
Taking to Twitter, they wrote: “Giving 10 points recently to Angela Rippon but only a nine to the absolutely outstanding performance from the men on Saturday night was bitterly disappointing and said so much about your character. It spoke volumes about you sir and was a sad reflection of your own ineptitude.”
Craig was quick to snap back with: “It was actually a nine to Angela R. Sort your facts kind sir before you self-publish. Thank you for watching.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
