Fans are accusing Strictly bosses of a show ‘fix’, after Eastenders actress Kellie Bright failed to collect the winner’s trophy despite being awarded perfect tens by the judges.
The actress performed her first dance of the final, the tango, to critical acclaim for herself and professional partner Kevin Clifton, with all four judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel-Horwood, Darcy Bussell and Bruno Tonioli awarding perfect scores to the couple.
The figures meant the couple’s total scored amounted to not only a perfect 80, but they were the first recipients of a ‘10’ from judge Craig all series.
So viewers were shocked when Jay McGuinness scooped the glitterball trophy from the favourite.
Axed star James Jordan fuelled more speculation, after announcing on Twitter that not only were his predictions correct, that a lot of ‘friends made a lot of money tonight’:
I’m ALWAYS right…. Well done Jay. Bonus, I put a big bet on him at 11/1 I feel for the other 2…. Great dancers
— James Jordan (@The_JamesJordan) December 19, 2015
I have a lot of friends that made a lot of money tonight…. I might be getting a few more Christmas presents this year
— James Jordan (@The_JamesJordan) December 19, 2015
Fans took to Twitter to voice their concern at the results, writing:
Im sorry but @Kelliebright37 was robbed. Two 40 scores and still didnt win? Must be a fix! #Strictly https://t.co/Bnyb7F0mYA
— Sian Golden (@siangolden) December 19, 2015
The only two that aren’t part of the bbc, and clearly the better dancers are the ones getting slated, what a fix! #Strictly
— Liv (@OliviaMitcheson) December 19, 2015
Hi everyone, kellie didn’t win strictly, but jay did, I think its a fix, jay shouldn’t have won, it should have been kellie
— steven d (@Dawson0972S) December 19, 2015
@Dawson0972S don’t think it was fixed but Jay was not the best dancer tonight. Show dance was very poor. Clearly he has strong fan base.
— Russell Marsh (@RussellMarsh_) December 19, 2015
Only last month, Strictly professional Ola Jordan accused the judges of favouriting some acts and undermarking others – and now some claim the same happened last night which is why there was such a disjoint between the judges’ scores and the public vote.
Dancer Anton Du Beke rubbished claims of a fix, telling Radio Times:
“The public really have a say, the judges do their thing and the public have their own part in it where they have an equal share of the vote. The public love the show and invest in the show and make the show what it is and that’s why we get 12, 13, 14 million viewers. And they don’t want it to be spoiled, so nobody’s going to spoil it. It’s like giving somebody a Christmas present and telling them what it is before they’ve opened it.
“Strictly Come Dancing is the purest sort of television there is.
“It’s the best show on telly, with the best audience. The audience stay loyal. It’s the audience really who own the show.”
Images: BBC
