Strictly Come Dancing fans ‘fuming’ as ‘wrong dancer’ goes home
Bethany Antonia was eliminated from Strictly (BBC/Guy Levy)
Strictly Come Dancing viewers have hit out online after Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu were eliminated, with one saying the “wrong dancer” was sent home.
Antonia and Xu became the sixth couple to leave the BBC dance competition after landing in the dance-off against Love Island winner Cach Mercer and pro Maddie Ingoldsby.
In an X post calling it a “ridiculous decision”, one viewer wrote: “Wrong dancer sent home on Strictly tonight! Ridiculous decision! Bethany was better than Cach this week and had better scores.”
Another said: “Terrible decision from Anton [Du Beke] and Shirley [Ballas] tonight in Strictly! Their justifications didn’t make any sense, and Cash was noticeably much worse in the dance-off than Bethany. Fuming!”
A third added: “Terrible, awful decision from Anton and Shirley tonight! Bethany shafted!”
As someone else wrote: “All around horrible dance off – gutted for Bethany and Nancy, though would have been sad to see Cach and Maddie go as well.”
What happened in the Strictly dance-off?
For their bid to stay in the competition, Antonia and Xu repeated their Foxtrot to ‘Bleeding Love’ by Leona Lewis. Mercer and Ingoldsby performed their Waltz to ‘That Ain’t You’ by Mulaa Joans.
The judges then revealed a split decision. Du Beke voted to save Mercer and Ingoldsby, while Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse wanted to save Antonia and Xu, leaving head judge Ballas to make the final call. She ultimately decided to keep Mercer and Ingoldsby in the competition, sending Antonia and Xu home.
Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin topped the leaderboard this week with 36 points for their American Smooth to ‘It Had to Be You’ by Harry Connick Jr.
‘A dream come true’
Speaking after her elimination, Antonia said she’d “had the most amazing time”.
The House of the Dragons star went on: “It was our time [to go], and this week, to go out on this dance, and to feel the magic – to get to do this kind of routine and what it means, and what it stands for, on the night that we go out just means everything to me.”
She said getting to perform with Xu “has just been a dream come true”.
Xu added that Antonia had “brought out a side of me that I didn’t ever think I would get to see”, adding: “I’m going to miss you so much, but I’m so grateful for everything you’ve taught me.”
Antonia’s exit comes days after she admitted she was “devastated” that the BBC had edited out her “Protect The Dolls” T-shirt slogan, which she wore as a sign of solidarity with the trans community.
The BBC said: “The BBC has previously stated that its editorial guidelines advise against badges, flags, emblems, symbols, and clothing with obvious branding or slogans being visible during filming. It stated that decisions on edits are made between programme makers and the BBC.”
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