Craig Revel Horwood defends decision to axe Strictly star Tom Dean after show is hit with fix claims

CRAIG Revel Horwood has defended his decision to axe Strictly star Tom Dean after the BBC show was hit with fix claims.

The first dance off this season saw Tom, 24, going up against pop star Toyah Wilcox, 66.

3

3

3

Tom, known for his swimming success at the Olympics, performed a Cha Cha to Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind & Fire with Nadiya Bychkova on Saturday night.

Despite scoring more points than Toyah and her partner Neil Jones, and landing higher on the leaderboard, they found themselves in the dance off.

In fact, Toyah was right at the bottom of the board, and viewers and stars alike were shocked when the judges opted to send Tom and Nadiya home.

Craig and Motsi Mabuse both opted to save Toyah while Anton Du Beke wanted to cut Tom.

READ MORE ON STRICTLY

ballroom tension

Strictly fans spot new feud after noticing tension between two pro dancers

telly row

Celeb SAS in feud with Strictly as BBC bosses fume over star

Head judge Shirley Ballas had the deciding vote, and also chose to save Toyah.

Explaining her reasons, she said she agreed with the other judges that his timing was off and his footwork was out of step.

Craig was quizzed earlier today on their decision, and told ITV show Lorraine: "I didn't want him to leave either.

"I know the next question on everyone's lips is why did I choose Toyah over Tom?

Most read in TV

GOWN AND OUT

MAFS UK bride confirms marriage is OVER as she sells ‘naked’ wedding dress

bundle of joy

Gogglebox star gives birth to adorable baby boy and reveals sweet name

jungle essentials

Maura Higgins stocks up on vapes before jetting off for I'm A Celeb

proud mum

Cheryl seen on TV since Liam Payne's death and makes rare comments on son Bear

"The reason was musicality. I have to choose not from my favourite but from a dance perspective.

"Of course I didn't want to see Tom go I thought he had a shining future."

A furious Nadiya later spoke out on Instagram and took a swipe at the show.

But fans spoke for her, calling the moment a ‘fix’ and arguing it was one of the most shock eliminations in the show’s history.

“Absolute fix. They obviously have some deal to give Neil more air time this year. Poor Tom. Not on at all," wrote one fan.

"Tom has been robbed!! Toyah was by far the worse dancer!!! Absolute Fix" said a second.

A furious third wrote: "No…wrong wrong wrong…..getting fed up with this show now,think the judges must be being told who to save, Tom should have stayed over Torah 100%"

Strictly Come Dancing’s Second Week Scores 

As is tradition, the first week scores are rolled over and combined into the second week. Here’s how the leaderboard now looks after the combined scores 

1. Tasha and Aljaz = 65 (30+35)
2. Sarah and Vito = 62 (30+32)
3. JB and Amy = 58 (31+27)
4. Montell and Johannes = 56 (26+30) 
5. Wynne and Katya = 56 (26+30)
6. Shayne and Nancy = 52 (21+31)
7. Chris and Dianne = 52 (23+29)
8. Jamie and Michelle = 50 (23+27)
9. Sam and Nikita = 45 (23+22)
10. Tom and Nadiya = 43 (23+20)
11. Nick and Luba =  39 (18+21) 
12. Pete and Jowita = 39 (17+22) 
13. Dr Punam and Gorka = 37 (19+18)
14. Paul and Karen = 32 (17+15)
15. Toyah and Neil = 30 (12+18)