STRICTLY Come Dancing fans think John Whaite should have been sent home instead of Rhys Stephenson.
The CBBC presenter, 28, came bottom of the leaderboard during the show’s semi-final on Saturday night after the four remaining couples performed two routines.
Rhys and his professional partner, Nancy Xu, landed in the dance-off against Bake Off winner John Whaite and his partner Johannes Radebe, where both couples had to reprise one of their dances in a bid to impress the judges and secure their place in the final next week.
After Rhys and Nancy performed their samba, and John and Johannes danced their jive to Higher Power by Coldplay, it was a unanimous decision by the judges to save the TV baker, sending Rhys packing.
The judges were however really seen struggling over the exit and even Craig declared: “This has been one of the most amazing dance-offs I’ve ever witnessed.”
But those watching at home were not impressed with the outcome – with some suggesting it was down the “curse of the samba”.
Over the years, celebrities and their pros have at times struggled to stay on the show after their sambas, leading some to think the dance is cursed.
In this series alone Tilly Ramsay and Greg Wise left after their sambas.
One person tweeted: “In my humble opinion #John should have gone last week after he dropped his partner. #Dan actually danced better last week than J&J. No doubt Dan would have been gone this week and we’d still have had Rhys in the final #Strictly.”
A second added: “Finally we see that #Strictly is a fix. What a ludicrous political decision by the judges. Shame on @bbcstrictly. It’s been amazing and all should’ve gone thru to the final but Rhys walked it over John come on.”
And a third remarked: “Nancy & #Rhys’ tango was better than John’s free dance. Why were they told to do samba in dance off? John & Johannes were consistently good but barely any improvement. Rhys’ progress on O.H. was worthy of shot at final. It’s a shame judges didn’t give him a chance.”
After watching a video collage of their best bits, an emotional Rhys said: “It’s good to cry, it’s good to feel. Strictly makes you feel things. You feel so much and sometimes that’s overwhelming.”
