Strictly's ninth celebrity leaves as viewers divided over show decision
Actress Ellie Taylor became the ninth celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday, as she and her partner Johannes Radebe ended up in the bottom two for the first time.
The couple's Jive to Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison landed them in the dance-off alongside Fleur East and Vito Coppola, who performed a Rumba to Sugababes hit Too Lost in You.
READ: Strictly star Ellie Taylor and Johannes Rabade break silence after 'unfair' scoring
After both couples had performed again, the judges gave their verdict – and it was unanimous. However, the show's viewers were divided on another issue from Saturday evening.
Speaking about his choice to save Fleur, judge Craig Revel Horwood said: "Based purely on the technique alone I would like to save Fleur and Vito."
WATCH: Strictly's Ellie Taylor gets emotional after family's surprise appearance
Motsi Mabuse agreed, commenting: "I would like to say that both couples performed really well, also for me the technical aspect was very important, so I’m going to save Fleur and Vito."
SEE: Ola and James Jordan's Strictly verdict: Why Kym Marsh might not stay in the competition
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Anton Du Beke said that both couples "danced marvellously" but also preferred Fleur and Vito and head judge Shirley Ballas said she would have also saved the pair.
Ellie and Johannes performed their jive again
Before Ellie's exit was announced, though, fans took to Twitter to discuss the fact that Kym Marsh was given a bye after contracting COVID-19, which meant that she will progress to next week without having to perform.
One wrote: "I'm still fuming about Kym being given a bye into QF week, 100% they should have eliminated her…" Another responded, however: "Kym's done nothing wrong, we are all still getting covid and the show dealt with it in the rules as per the start of this season."
The judges saved Fleur and Vito
A third commented: "An interesting one this week because I think Kym would've been in the bottom two. Not sure it's entirely fair but equally don't know how else to play it out fairly."
Strictly has always allowed celebrity competitors to miss one week due to illness or injury, with JudI Love, Tom Fletcher and Will Bayley among those who took time off in the past.
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