Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard is pointing the finger of blame squarely at the judges following his elimination over the weekend.
In Sunday night’s results show, AJ and his partner Saffron Barker found themselves in the dance-off for the second week in a row, with the judges ultimately choosing to send them home, sparing Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden.
During an appearance alongside Saffron on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, AJ admitted he felt the routine was “underscored”, leading to them winding up in the bottom two.
“You did amazing, you attacked it so positively and for me the dance was a great Samba,” he told his partner, adding he felt their routine was “underscored”.
AJ also claimed he “didn’t see any of [the] technical issues” that the judges referred to, admitting he took Craig Revel Horwood’s score of just five points “to heart”.
Before last week’s Strictly, AJ revealed that he’d begged producers to give Saffron another dance besides the Samba, but to no avail.
This year’s series marks the third in a row that AJ has been eliminated after he and his partner performed a Samba, with The Saturdays star Mollie King and Paralympian Lauren Steadman suffering the same fate.
When asked whether he feels he is “cursed”, AJ responded: “You should ask production if they think that.”
Saffron previously said, after being sent home: “I’ve had the absolute time of my life and it’s all down to him. It’s been amazing.
“I’d like to thank AJ so much, when I look at what I was like on week one I was so embarrassed and shy. He’s really taken me out of my shell. Thank you so much for everything.”
Five couples now remain in the competition ahead of the upcoming quarter final, which will see the celebrities tackling routines set to songs from musicals.