Strictly fans blame judges and accuse them of 'manipulating' public vote as Lewis Cope crashes out
Lewis is out - but who's fault is it?Strictly fans have blamed the judges following Lewis Cope’s elimination last night (Sunday, December 7).
The Emmerdale star, 30, found himself in the dance-off last night with Amber Davies. Sadly for Lewis, the judges unanimously saved Amber.
Judges criticise Strictly star Lewis Cope
On Saturday night’s show (December 6), Lewis danced a salsa to The Dance at the Gym from West Side Story with Katya Jones.
However, their performance didn’t go as well as many of theirs have in recent weeks.
They picked up 35 points for it, their lowest score in weeks.
“It wasn’t your best dance for me by far,” Shirley Ballas said.
Anton, meanwhile, told the duo that the partnering part of their dance needed to be more “subtle”, with the routine suffering because of it.
Craig Revel Horwood also had some criticism, branding the salsa a “little bit square”. “Things weren’t finished in this, bizarrely,” he also said.
Lewis and Katya eliminated
Last night saw Lewis and Katya land in the bottom two, alongside Amber Davies.
After performing their routines again, the judges opted to save Amber, sending Lewis and Katya home the week before the semi-finals.
Fans were stunned and furious.
“Strictly used to be a dancing competition, but the best dancer hasn’t won since Jay McGuiness in 2015, and this is the biggest robbery in Strictly history for me. I’ve watched every ep of every series of this show but I’m done for this series. Devastated, honestly,” one fan tweeted.
“One of the biggest shocks in Strictly’s 21-year history. I am gobsmacked!!” another said.
“Wildest dance-off in the history of dance-offs,” a third fumed.
Fans blame judges for Lewis Cope’s elimination
Now, fans have blamed the judges for Lewis’ elimination, arguing that their comments are what led to the star being in the dance-off.
“I also think their needs to be a shakeup on the judging panel next year – the judges obviously attempted to manipulate the voting by scoring 3 of the couples the same score and despite this not being Lewis’s best dance he may have still got though if it weren’t for that,” one fan tweeted.
“Was tonight or Saturday night’s the result which will end Strictly? Weeks of Shirley putting Lewis down then saying it “wasn’t his best dance” – giving him same score as Karen and George… it’s on the judges heads that he went. Public would have thought he was safe,” another said.
“The judges on #Strictly are just as much to blame for tonight’s result as the public. Their all over the place scoring is the reason we’ve ended up with that dance off. If they marked contestants consistently that corresponded with the comments they make then it would be better,” a third wrote.
“Bring back Darcey Bussel and Bruno Tonioli. The #Strictly judges stitched up #Lewis. Terrible show.” another fumed.
TV Guide has contacted the BBC for comment.
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing Musicals Week: More tears, lots of glamour, and a SHOCK elimination!
Strictly continues on Saturday, December 13 at 6.35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
