STRICTLY’S DANNY TOLD TO ‘CHILL’
W ELSH Strictly dancer Amy Dowden’s celebrity partner Danny JohnJules was ordered to “calm down” and “chill out” on last night’s show at the end of a week in which the pair had been troubled by row rumours.
The two have made newspaper headlines this week and spoke out in a bid to quell rumours of bullying.
But the judges appeared to address the issue while criticising their dance on last night’s edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
Bruno Tonioli told the Red Dwarf actor: “You have to be really careful. You can’t be too tough and staccato... you can’t push her.”
And Craig Revel Horwood said of their Samba: “It’s too tough. There’s too much energy.”
Craig then advised Danny to chill out and calm down in his routines if he makes it through to next week.
Dame Darcey Bussell praised Amy’s teaching ethic: “No mistakes, my goodness, no mistakes. A fabulous amount of dance content. Well done Amy, you have worked him hard.”
Danny and Amy were then awarded a score of 27 for their Latin number, leaving them floundering at the bottom of the leaderboard.
It comes after a difficult week for the couple and the two addressed the rumours when they appeared on spin-off show It Takes Two on Friday night.
Amy said: “Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals... But do you know what, we took a half an hour break and got straight to it.
“I’ve never felt threatened or bullied by Danny. I really want to get this man to Blackpool, and then to the final.”
And Danny added: “Well, all I can tell you is that the only reason I’m here, this far, is because of Amy and I would never bite the hand that feeds me.
“I’m more than happy; it’s probably the best dancing we have done in the last couple of days since I have been on the show.
“And I’m just happy to go along, she is the boss, she wears the pants. Why would I argue with a Welsh woman.”
Yesterday, Danny’s wife tweeted that she felt the BBC were “throwing Danny under the bus”. “Why are you trying to destroy him?” she said in a tweet.
And ahead of yesterday’s recording, the Red Dwarf actor liked a tweet which read: “This woman has 100% denied there is any issue between her and Danny, they make a great pair on the dance floor!
“In my opinion it’s a damn big stitch up by the powers that be! Just the BBC doing what they do best, bullying others!”
On last night’s show, the couple performed a Caribbean-themed samba to Feels Like Home by Sigala, Fuse ODG, Sean Paul and Kent Jones.
Before the performance, JohnJules said the routine would be a tribute to his Windrush heritage.
Their score of 27 out of a possible total of 40 placed them bottom of the leaderboard and three points behind Kate Silverton and Aljaz Skorjanec, who placed second to last.
Elsewhere, Silverton received a total score of 30 with a quickstep, her highest of the series so far, while Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts scored a total of 39 for a couples’ choice contemporary routine in memory of her late father.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One at 7.50pm tonight.