Eagle-eyed Strictly Come Dancing viewers believe tension is growing in the relationship between head judge, Shirley Ballas, and professional dancer, Karen Hauer.
Karen, who at 41 is the longest-serving pro having joined the BBC show in 2012, is partnered with radio presenter Eddie Kadi in this year’s competition. Saturday (October 14) saw the pair record a week four score of just 24 – landing them in 12th place out of a possible 13 on the leaderboard.
Although it was Craig Revel-Horwood that awarded Karen and Eddie their lowest score – a measly four – it’s 63-year old Shirley who viewers believe may have an axe to grind with Karen, despite her kinder six. Earlier in the week, Latin specialist Karen hit out on It Takes Two over the judges’ negativity towards them, reports Nottingham Post.
READ MORE: Strictly’s Dianne Buswell breaks silence after sparking split rumours with Joe Sugg
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing slammed with complaints after fans uncover ‘new show curse’
“I think the judges had a different vision of what was happening,” she declared. “And obviously the way that we were expressing ourselves with the Cha Cha Cha was not what they are used to seeing in the show.”
(Image: BBC)
She continued: “But it was a bit different for us, we wanted to enjoy ourselves. We wanted to show a different side to the Cha Cha Cha.” Fans have now begun speculating whether a feud exists between Shirley and Karen, with one Reddit user commenting: “I’ve always got the impression that Shirley and Karen don’t get along, possibly because Shirley was a mentor to Kevin Clifton and Karen and Kevin obviously divorced.”
Another added: “Eddie should not have been caught in the crossfire. He has no control over the choreography so critiquing him on that and not giving him any actual feedback on his performance is ridiculous.”
(Image: PA)
A third wrote: “I really don’t think Karen and Shirley like each other, Karen really wanted to speak up after the criticism in the Cha Cha you could tell.” And a fourth said: “What was with Shirley this week… how she was speaking to the dancers was so condescending. It was uncomfortable to watch.”
It comes after Shirley was heavily criticised earlier this month for seemingly underscoring three of the show’s female celebrity contestants. Many saw her lower marks for Zara McDermott, Angela Rippon and Ellie Leach as a push against their success, as her fellow panellists awarded higher marks.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep u p to date on all things showbiz here.
Shirley was subsequently booed by some in the audience during the week two show. An insider told The Sun at the time that many people were shocked at how she was scoring the contestants. “Her scoring surprised many,” the source said.
A year previously, meanwhile, Shirley was embroiled in a “sexism row” after she was accused of giving preferential treatment to male celebrity contestants over their female counterparts. Some fans even called for Shirley’s removal from the panel, with one declaring: “She has no credibility as a judge”.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday and Sunday from 6.30pm or watch it on catch-up on BBC iPlayer.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
