Strictly Come Dancing bid farewell to Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu as they became the latest pair to exit the competition on Sunday night.
The results show was filled with emotion as Shayne, 40, and Nancy, 33, found themselves in the dance-off against Wynne Evans and Katya Jones.
Both couples were forced to reprise their routines, with Shayne and Nancy performing their Rumba to Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time, while Wynne and Katya performed their American Smooth to MIKA's Grace Kelly. The judges were divided in their verdicts after the second performances, leaving head judge Shirley Ballas to make the final decision.
Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse voted to save Shayne and Nancy, but Anton Du Beke opted to save Wynne and Katya. With the votes tied, Shirley, 64, cast the deciding vote, choosing to save Wynne and Katya, which meant Shayne and Nancy's time on the show came to an end, reports the Mirror.
When asked by host Tess Daly to reflect on his experience, Shayne 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."
In response, Nancy expressed: "I'm beyond proud of this dance partnership. Shayne from week one until this point, every second you put your feet on the dance floor you improved yourself. You're a deep thinker, you always doubt yourself, you never believed yourself, but I never ever questioned you. When I watch you, I feel proud because I've turned someone who has never ever danced in their life into an amazing dancer. You should believe in yourself. I adored this partnership."
Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers were quick to complain about the dance-off results. One person said: "Shirley getting casting vote is a joke ..if it’s 2-2 should come down to audience vote" while a different account wrote: "The judges votes is totally unfair? if two judges save one...then the other two save another, that's 2 each? how can it be that it just goes on Shirley's vote?? Absolutely unfair! what's the point of judges votes? may as well just let Shirley decide?"
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday 16 November at 6:45pm for a special evening from the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom with the results show on Sunday 17 November at 7:20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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