‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fans are kicking off at Shirley Ballas, following her decision to axe Aston Merrygold from the show over the weekend.
On Sunday (5 November), the decision fell to Shirley to decide whether to eliminate Aston or competitor Mollie King after the dance-off, when the rest of the judging panel failed to reach a decision.
Ultimately, she chose to give Aston his marching orders, but viewers were not happy, with many criticising Shirley for sending home a contestant who had been a favourite throughout the contest.
While some called her judging credentials into question, a handful even suggested her choosing to send Aston home had been a personal decision...
However, not all ‘Strictly’ fans are unanimous in their criticism of Shirley, with many pointing out that if more viewers had picked up the phone to vote for Aston, he wouldn’t have wound up in the bottom in the first place.
One critic who was not happy with the outcome of the dance-off was former judge Alesha Dixon, but she slammed her ex-colleague Craig Revel Horwood than newbie Shirley.
She criticised Craig for giving Aston such a low score during this week’s live show, writing on her Twitter page: “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.”
The remaining nine couples will return to the ‘Strictly’ dance floor on Saturday night (4 November) on BBC One.