STRICTLY judge Shirley Ballas has hit back at allegations she favours male contestants after becoming embroiled in a ‘sexism’ row.
She recently took some flack from viewers via social media who claimed she favoured men on the show over female contestants.
Shirley Ballas insists she doesn’t favour male contestants after her ‘sexism’ row
Head judge Shirley loves getting glammed up for the BBC showpiece
The accusation was sparked after a dance-off last month between radio presenter Richie Anderson and pop star Fleur East, which saw three of the four judges vote to keep the latter without Shirley having to cast her vote.
That saw Richie shown the door, but when asked who she would have backed, she said she would have saved him.
It went against the consensus among viewers and the rest of the panel, and left many wondering what her thinking was.
But Shirley points out the fate of contestants such as Kym Marsh and her pro partner Graziano di Prima is decided much more by the viewers at home, and she explains that she backed the departing Loose Woman star Kaye Adams just as much as she did Richie.
In an exclusive interview, she said: “Everybody has a favourite, but not everybody is voting as we saw Richie leave. That is all down to the votes.
“I’m not the one who puts them there. People have to understand that every week somebody has to go home. Kaye Adams surprised me. She went out in week one, as she was terrified as I met her in the corridor before she went out.
“But I think she did a grand job. She did show a lot of promise and it would have been nice to see more of her journey.”
Asked who she sees as this year’s underdog for the Glitterball trophy, she diplomatically said: “I’m not going to say who it is, I love them all. They are all trying their very best and they are all bringing something that is special.”
Shirley controversially wanted to save Richie Anderson when he was eliminated early in the series
Fleur East lived to dance another day and has gone from strength to strength
