Devinitely viewers’ fault
Shirley Ballas has hit back at Strictly fans blaming judges for sending Dev Griffin and Dianne Buswell home – saying it’s the viewers’ fault.
She said: “People have got to get out there and vote.
“We do our job but as you can see, there were many people who were saved with lower scores. It’s that middle of the leaderboard when you think people are safe.”
Speaking of the uproar, the head judge, 59, told Loose Women: “Lots of people wrote to me and said, ‘But he’s got so much talent’. Never in a million years did I think Dev was going, to me he was a potential finalist.
“But we have to do it right in that split second, you have to make a decision. The three judges were unanimous so it wasn’t down to me, I just agreed.”
Radio 1 DJ Dev, 34, admitted he was “gutted” to be sent home so early on after facing the dance-off against
Viscountess Emma Weymouth, 33, and pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec, 29.
But former Strictly pro James Jordan blasted Shirley and co-judges
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse
and Bruno Tonioli.
He said: “I was irritated by the judges. We were disappointed Dev and Dianne are gone. It happens every year. I felt the show itself did its job, the pros did their job, the celebrities did their job, but the judges didn’t do their job. It was a bit of a farce. The wrong person is gone.
“It comes from the judging being all over the place. The public aren’t the experts but they seem to get it more right than the judges have.”