STRICTLY Come Dancing star Shirley Ballas has defended her criticism of Fleur East.
It comes as fans were left convinced earlier this month that the pair were in a ‘feud’ with one another.
Shirley Ballas appeared to defend her criticism of Fleur East
Fans were left convinced that Shirley and Fleur were in a ‘feud’ with one another
But in the recent results show, Shirley, 62, appeared to defend her early criticism of the star, who is dancing with Vito Coppola on the show.
Shirley, and judges Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Crag Revel Horwood chatted to show hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman about the latest performances.
Shirley addressed Fleur and Vito’s dance, which saw them top the leaderboard with 39/40.
The judge awarded the routine, and said: “Well first of all over the first five weeks, with everybody, I like to give some really tough constructive criticism and I felt Fleur took it with grace, with charm.
“I know and I heard that she keeps notes and she studies, she’s really, really been listening to the judges.
“The Samba is such a difficult dance to do. Choreographed beautifully by Vito, and she just mastered it, she did several of the basic steps, plus open steps, her arms were beautiful, her musicality was beautiful, her leg action was off the charts. She was brilliant.”
Last month, viewers took to Twitter to declare the head judge had it in for Fleur after Shirley revealed she would have saved Richie Anderson over the former X Factor star in the dance off during Movie Week.
While the feud rumours have quietened down in recent weeks, they were reignited after Shirley’s comments to Fleur following a recent routine.
At the time, Fleur and Vito had danced to I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John.
Giving her critique afterwards, Shirley said: “I was actually quite pleased with you, there was a lot in there I liked. I appreciate it’s difficult to come after a Jive, and to keep your composure and to keep it really beautiful.
“So I loved that, I loved the connection with the body, it had some finesse, there was some beautiful closes going on here when you were doing your chain steps, style, grace.”
But Shirley then pulled out a pair of small dancing shoes to show Strictly viewers and Fleur where she had gone wrong with her footwork.
While Shirley said there “was a lot to like” and she had done her late father “proud”, viewers were still convinced the judge wasn’t a fan of Fleur.
Taking to Twitter, one Strictly fan wrote: “No but really what is Shirley’s issue with Fleur? She was so icy then with her feedback.”
Another added: “Shirley clearly doesn’t like Fleur. She doesn’t even look at her when she critiques her. It’s so uncomfortable to watch!”
Fleur and Vito recently topped the leaderboard with 39/40
