Strictly Come Dancing legend Brendan Cole has slammed the BBC ballroom competition when judges decided to keep Angela Rippon after she performed her “worst ever dance”.
Last weekend, the broadcaster and her pro dancer Kai Widdrngton found themselves in the dreaded dance-off against Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk. The 79-year-old performed the waltz to Fascination by Nat King Cole which received an impressive 28 points out of 40.
Meanwhile the Waterloo Road hunk performed the rumba to his wedding song Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott which scored them 27 points out of 40. Now, former pro dancer Brendan – who competed on the BBC show from 2004 to 2018 – has claimed that Adam’s dance was “much better” than Angela’s routine.
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Speaking to The Sun, the 47-year-old ballroom dancer confessed that while he didn’t “see a mis-step” from the TV legend, he did spot a “massive wobble at the end.” He confessed: “Her timing was a little off. She had turned out feet which you can’t really have in ballroom dancing.
(Image: Getty Images)
“It was her worst dance, and she didn’t perform it as well as she did the first time she performed it. Adam [Thomas] and Luba [Mushtuk] were much better in the dance-off than Angela [Rippon] and Kai [Widdrington].”
The actor said goodbye to the competition after he failed to wow the judges with his routine against Angela. Despite her faults, Brendan added: “Having said that, in general, Angela has been much better than what Adam has been.
“It’s probably better for the show that Angela stays, but that’s not what the dance-off is about.” Brendan wasn’t the only contestant who was upset about the outcome of the dance-off, with fans taking to the social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their thoughts online.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
One user penned: “There’s no point the judges gasping in shock. If they’d scored Angela Rippon properly Adam would’ve been higher up in the table and might’ve swerved the dance-off.” Another pointed out how ruthless the judges had been with their scores that week.
They argued: “Do they think we are stupid? ‘Oh they’ve rumbled our high scores, reduce the scores of Adam as crap so that he’ll go and keep Angela in!”
Another agreed: “They scored her the same as Angela S and 3 behind Layton. I mean come on!!!” A fourth speculated: “Pretty sure the goal is to get her to Blackpool so they can link it with Come Dancing.”
(Image: BBC)
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Adam, who has rheumatoid arthritis, made several errors during his final performance which saw they judges unanimously vote to save the TV presenter instead. He later revealed that his illness meant that he was forced to miss out on crucial hours of training.
He told The Sun last week: “I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long without getting ill. I had to miss work and a bit of training.” He was also forced to pull out of the Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two last month dur to his illness.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One from 6.30pm or catch up on BBC iPlayer.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
