Former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judge Alesha Dixon has kicked off with Craig Revel Horwood, accusing him of being responsible for Aston Merrygold’s elimination this weekend.
On Sunday night (5 November), ‘Strictly’ fans were shocked to see Aston landing in the bottom two alongside Mollie King, and were even more surprised when he wound up being booted off the show.
With Craig voting to axe Aston and fellow judges Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli opting to keep him in, it was new Head Judge Shirley Ballas who cast the deciding vote, giving the former JLS singer his marching orders.
The result was met with a backlash on social media, with many naming it the most shocking exit in ‘Strictly’ history, and one of the show’s former experts Alesha was particularly unhappy with the way things transpired.
Venting on her Twitter page, she said that had Craig not given Aston such a low score for his routine the previous night, he probably wouldn’t have wound up in the bottom two at all.
She fumed: “Craig giving Aston a 4 basically put the nail in the coffin! Ridiculous! Can’t believe one of the best dancers has left so soon!!!
Shortly after his exit aired, Aston - who had been a favourite to win the show prior to his departure - posted a statement on his Instagram page, insisting that he had no hard feelings about bowing out so early.
He wrote: “Thank you so much for letting me be apart of such a great year I’ve made some amazing new homies!! Class of 17 you are all f***ing brilliant.”
This weekend’s live show also saw Debbie McGee make ‘Strictly’ history with her Tango routine, as she and Giovanni Pernice bagged the earliest perfect score in the show’s 15 series.
The remaining nine couples will return to the ‘Strictly’ dance floor on Saturday night (4 November) on BBC One.