Dogfight! Shirley and Brendan clash over Top Gun routine
IT was movie week on Strictly Come Dancing... and some of the performers were giving the most diva-like silver screen stars a run for their money.
For a frosty spat between Shirley Ballas and professional dancer Brendan Cole marred Saturday’s show, as viewers accused the head judge of ‘showing off’.
The head judge criticised the ‘rise and fall’ in Cole and his celebrity partner Charlotte Hawkins’ Top Gun-themed tango.
But the 57-year-old had barely got to the end of her sentence before Cole interrupted her and said: ‘I’m really sorry, but there was no rise and fall.’ She told him to look back over the footage, to which Cole coldly responded: ‘I will, my dear.’
Fellow judge Bruno Tonioli later reminded the dancer to be ‘more respectful’ towards the new panel chief.
However, Miss Ballas was accused by viewers of being ‘ unprofessional’ in her ‘inconsistent’ scores.
One audience member said: ‘Maybe a world pro when it comes to dancing but is still in the training room when it comes to judging.’
Miss Ballas was also criticised for ‘showing off her knowledge’ and being ‘too technical’ in her judging. Another viewer posted: ‘I wish Shirley Ballas would stop trying to prove how much she knows all the time.’
Meanwhile, Reverend Richard Coles’s paso doble to Flash Gordon placed him at the bottom of the leaderboard, with judge Craig Revel Horwood describing his performance as like ‘a three-year-old having a tantrum’. He was eliminated from the show last night.