BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas stands by controversial dance-off decision

Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas caused a furious backlash from show fans when she opted to save Wynne Evans and Katya Jones over Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu

Shirley Ballas has insisted she did not vote strategically on Strictly Come Dancing to send Shayne Ward home after a tenser dance off.

The 64-year-old dance expert has been the head judge on the BBC's long-running dance competition since 2017 - but sparked a backlash from fans last weekend. Viewers were appalled to see her invoke her power as head judge on the show to send 40-year-old singer Shayne and his dance partner Nancy Xu, 33, home after they danced against Opera singer Wynne Evans, 52, and his dance partner Katya Jones, 35.

Fans slammed the choice - which was made after the panel of judges split their votes between the two couples, but Shirley's choice as head judge tipped the scales in Wynne and Katya's favour. The decision was especially difficult for fans as it robbed Shayne and Nancy of the chance to dance at Blackpool Tower Ballroom this weekend for the annual Blackpool special episode of Strictly.

But now Shirley has insisted that her choice wasn't motivated by any external choice or sense of bias. She has insisted that she relied on her expertise and found the X Factor star was the weaker star on the night.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Shirley said she "stands by her decision 150 per cent" and said she will keep voting on the show without "fear or favour". She told the outlet: "The audiences at home see certain camera angles, with all the effects and things like leaves falling down on the screen. But as judges we just see the cold ballroom as it is. We see all the footwork and landings, little mistakes, things like that, that influence our decision."

Viewers were devastated to see Shayne go home last weekend. Gracious in defeat, the star said during his exit interview: "I just want to say, you guys up there [the other contestants in the Clauditorium] are a dream. Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys you helped me so much. I want to say thank you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I've ever done.”

He continued: “I'm proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Nancy], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go. I'm sorry it didn't work out to the end, but I'm super proud that I got to meet you [to Nancy] and dance with you, so thank you.”

Nancy also had positive words to say about her experience, gushing: “I'm beyond proud of this dance partnership. Shayne from week one until this point, every second you put your feet on the dancefloor you improved yourself. You're a deep thinker, you always doubt yourself, you never believed yourself, but I never ever questioned you. When I watch you, I feel proud because I've turned someone who has never ever danced in their life into an amazing dancer. You should believe in yourself. I adored this partnership.”

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