Wynne Evans says Shirley Ballas 'saw sense' as he comes out fighting for BBC Strictly judge amid backlash
WATCH HERE: Shayne Ward exits Strictly Come Dancing 2024
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Strictly Come Dancing star Wynne Evans has defended Shirley Ballas’ choice to keep him in the competition after it sparked backlash amongst viewers.
On Sunday night, it was down to head judge Ballas to decide who would make it through to Blackpool this weekend after the vote was split.
Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse both decided to keep Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu in the competition as they claimed the former X Factor star was the “better dancer”.
Anton Du Beke threw a spanner in the works and decided to save Evans and his partner Katya Jones, noting that their small mistake spurred them on to give the best performance.
Shayne Ward, Nancy Xu, Wynne Evans and Katya Jones faced the dance-off over the weekend
BBC
As Ballas was the head judge, her decision was final, and unfortunately, it ended Ward and Xu’s journey.
She noted: “Well I don’t want to see either couple leave actually because I thought you both had a great run this series but based on this dance alone.
“Both of you had hiccups, a few little hiccups there, but one of you displayed a much more powerful and joyous routine for me so it was quite difficult for me to choose.
“But on this occasion, I am going to save Wynne and Katya,” sparking outrage amongst viewers at home.
One fan fumed on X: “Poor judging tonight. Shirley Ballas has lost the plot with her marking and getting fed up with the biased scoring across the board. The show is definitely fixed.”
“Shirley Ballas - SHAME ON YOU. Just goes to prove my point that she is right up Wynne's a***. Shayne is a miles better dancer. A disgusting result,” a second raged.
Shirley Ballas decided to save Wynne and Katya
BBC
Another fan demanded: “PLEASE BBC can you get rid of Shirley Ballas for next year, she is so biased, saves her favourites, gives 10's because of a sob story, we need a fresh face for next year.”
Someone else agreed: “I want to see Shirley Ballas replaced as head judge please #bbc #strictly preferably with someone who’s not biased, and judges based on who’s the better dancer." (sic)
The backlash left Evans defending Ballas' decision to keep them in the competition, with the 52-year-old addressing the controversy on Radio Wales with co-stars Dot Davies and James Williams.
Davies began: "I don’t want you to do that again! I’ve always said [Shirley’s] a good girl, I've always liked that Shirley. Good girl, saw sense!”
Wynne went on to explain how it had felt being in the dance-off and said: "Gosh, I tell you. It was pretty nerve-wracking to say. And also I think a approach it from a different angle, I think, to some people because I’m having a good time, thrilled to be there.
“I was talking to Pete Wicks about this last night and we were saying, do you remember how we used to go to the pub with our mates?
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“Cos we’ve been in Strictly, in the bubble, for three months and so I haven’t been out, I haven’t done anything. I mean, Sundays you can go out if you want - last night I was in the ice bath so yeah…"
When asked by Tess about his time on the show, Ward said: “I just want to say, you guys up there [the other contestants in the Clauditorium] are a dream.
“Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys you helped me so much. I want to say thank you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I've ever done.”
“I'm proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Nancy], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go.
“I'm sorry it didn't work out to the end, but I'm super proud that I got to meet you [to Nancy] and dance with you, so thank you.”
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