Kai Widdrington sends clear message after ex Nadiya Bychkova's BBC Strictly exit as he wades into 'fix' row
Kai Widdrington has waded into the controversy surrounding Nadiya Bychkova's Strictly exit
BBC/PA
Kai Widdrington appears to have picked a side following Sunday evening's controversial Strictly Come Dancing results.
Toyah Willcox and Tom Dean were the two stars tasked with performing again for the judges in the dreaded dance-off alongside their pro partners Neil Jones and Nadiya Bychkova, respectively.
Willcox had finished the weekend rock-bottom of the leaderboard while Dean sat in 10th spot, making his appearance in the dance-off rather surprising for BBC viewers.
But the shocks didn't stop there as three of the four Strictly judges opted to save Willcox, which meant Bychkova and Dean had to say their goodbyes at the very first hurdle.
The result left Bychkova devastated and she cryptically said she was unable to address her exit soon after the show aired - she took to social media hours later with a "devastated" statement.
Meanwhile, Jones took to Instagram to express his delight at making it through to another week with Willcox and fellow pro Widdrington appears to have shown his support for the outcome.
Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova were the first to be eliminated from the competition BBCDespite being in a relationship with Bychkova until their split earlier this year, Widdrington hasn't commented or interacted in any way with her social media posts regarding her Strictly exit.
The likes of Dianne Buswell, Carlos Gu, Nancy Xu, Vito Coppola and several other pros reacted to Bychkova's "devastated" statement with their well wishes and likes - but Widdrington was notably absent (at the time of writing).
However, this isn't down to a lack of activity on social media as he was quick to show his support when Jones penned on the site: "Ladies and Gentlemen when you ask me how my Saturday night went...
"I just want to say it’s week 2 @toyahofficial is not a dancer but every day she’s improving, each day I tell Toyah, it might not be perfect but you are improving and at the same time you are not losing who you really are and that is what @bbcstrictly is all about.
"You bring so much joy in our lives and I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to teach and guide you so we can both entertain."
Among their backers was none other than Widdrington who, despite it being at the expense of his former flame, "liked" the post celebrating the fact Jones and Willcox had progressed.
While social media was flooded with angered reactions to the result on Sunday evening - including some claims of a "fix" - Jones faced similar comments in response to his Instagram statement.
However, Jones was quick to fire back at criticism of him and Willcox progressing in the competition, stating he wished "nobody went home".
Dean, on the other hand, also took to the web to pay tribute to Bychkova and thank Strictly bosses for the experience - despite his untimely exit.
"Coming straight from the Paris 2024 Olympics into Strictly Come Dancing has been a whirlwind but I’m so so proud," he began.
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Kai Widdrington 'liked' Neil Jones's post about staying the competition at the expense of Nadiya Bychkova
"The journey may have ended a little earlier than I hoped and of course I am so gutted, but I’m so grateful for all the amazing people I met, people I’ll be cheering on throughout and who I know will continue to smash it.
"And to my brilliant partner @nadiyabychkova , thank you so much for everything. You’ve been an amazing teacher and to have danced alongside you has been an absolute privilege
"Over and out Strictly! You’ve been an absolute blast x," Dean concluded. (sic)
Just 14 couples remain in the competition now and Willcox and Jones will be hoping to avoid the dance-off for a second week running.
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