ED OF THE PACK?
STARS DELIVER VERDICT ON SHOW DARK HORSE
STRICTLY star Judge Rinder has hit back at dancer Darcey Bussell after she called for Ed Balls to be axed.
The ballet dancer, 47, sparked an outcry when she was asked if the former shadow chancellor should be allowed through or dumped and replied: “Out.”
But leading barrister Robert, 38, who presides over the TV courtroom programme, has jumped to Ed’s defence.
He backed the ex-MP, saying the 49-year-old was doing better than he had been given credit for.
“I think the public would get pretty tired if it was a Jeremy Vine situation and he wasn’t getting better,” Robert told The Sunday Post.
“Or if it was an Ann Widdecombe situation. But the reality is that on any fair and objective standard on any given week he comes out, tries his hardest and improves.
“It’d be unfair to come to any other conclusion. This is an entertainment programme and it’s about improving each week and every single person has.
“Ed is a very good dancer. I watched his Gangnam Style salsa like anyone else from the sidelines and cheered along.”
Fans of long jumper Greg Rutherford, 30, were outraged when Ed – who dances with partner Katya Jones – avoided the dance-off once again while the Olympian was kicked off the show.
The former Labour MP wowed a Blackpool audience with his jive to Great Balls Of Fire last weekend.
And his exploits continued last night when he performed a tango to The Rolling Stones’ ( I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
Journalist Jeremy Vine, who competed on Strictly last year, tweeted “GIVE THEM MORE” in support of Ed, while Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan, 51, also jumped to his aid.
He tweeted: “If Ed Balls is voted off Strictly this week, I am going to scream and scream, then throw my toys out of the pram and demand another vote.”
Viewer Cath Russell tweeted: “Disgusted with Darcey Bussell’s comments about Ed Balls on Radio 2. Hardly unbiased! Should apologise on Saturday night. Appalling.”
Fan Katie Hind said: “What has it got to do with Darcey Bussell if Ed Balls stays in? The public are voting for him in droves. Them’s the rules.”
Some compared Balls’ success on the programme to Brexit and Donald Trump.
Journalist Robert Pest on tweeted: “The establishment feels threatened and wants vote annulled. But the will of the people must be respected.”
The series has been hailed as the most successful yet, with last week’s show five million viewers ahead of The X Factor.
The drama – including Will Young quitting – and plentiful tears have helped hook viewers, and Judge Rinder admits he’s been swept along.
“I’m surprised at how involved I’ve allowed myself to get,” he added. “It’s because you work with an amazing teacher who invests so much in making you look good.
“You’re desperate for it to go well for them as much as yourself. I’m not someone that gets easily emotional. I’m a stiff upper lip type of person to say the least.
“If you asked me a year ago if I’d get emotional about a friend I’d made leaving a dance competition – as I did with Greg – I’d probably say, ‘Oh stop being such a ninny’.”
With filming of his ITV show not finishing until 9pm, training with pro partner Oksana Platero regularly goes on until after midnight.
It means the only places open are fast food joints and he’s been existing on drive-thru burgers.
The audience has regularly contained celebrity fans, friends and loved ones, and Robert will hopefully soon have close pal and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch in the studio. “He’s been really supportive,” he says. “He did an amazing thing on radio where he did a commentary of my jive.
“Sadly he couldn’t be here this week but he’ll definitely come along if I carry on in the competition.
“I’m not teaching him steps. He doesn’t need any teaching for any type of performance.”
Viewers have enjoyed Robert’s regular spats with another judge, Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood, and he has no plans to stop them.
“I’d call them informed discussions,” he smiles. “If he has something constructive and fair, that’s fine. When it’s gratuitous, then I have the opportunity to reply – and I usually do!”
Strictly Come Dancing: The Results, 7.20pm,
BBC1.