Shirley Ballas has been accused of ‘hating’ one of the Strictly 2023 contestants by viewers of the show.
The show recently aired its Halloween special and it was Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola who topped the leaderboard this week.
The judges were busy offering their feedback and scores to the celebs and their pro partners, including head judge Shirley. But over the last few weeks, viewers have been left wondering the same thing.
Shirley Ballas on Strictly
Fans of the show have accused Shirley of ‘hating’ Angela Scanlon as well as Nigel Harman. At the weekend, Shirley gave feedback to Angela and once again, pointed out her breathing. She offered advice on how Angela can sort her breathing as that’s “the only thing” she’s “missing”.
One person tweeted at the weekend: “Shirley hates Nigel and Angela S.”
Another said: “Christ Shirley is ridiculous. Angela R[ippon] made loads of mistakes and gets 9s. Nigel and Angela S get pilloried as usual. Shirley needs to go now.”
A third wrote: “Shirley really doesnt like Angela. Any nice comment said through gritted teeth.”
It isn’t the first time viewers have made this claim during the series.
Earlier this month, someone tweeted: “Shirley HATES Angela. Not a single compliment.”
Another added: “Shirley clearly hates Angela.”
One person claimed: “Shirley has one woman she hates every year (Emma B[unton], Clara [Amfo], Maisie [Smith], etc), and this year it’s clearly Angela S. Shame…”
On previous series of Strictly, viewers have accused Shirley of ‘hating’ some of the female celebs who have competed.
Last year, she was accused of favouring the male celebs over the female stars. It came after she said she would have saved eliminated celebrity Richie Anderson over Fleur East following a dance-off, despite Fleur scoring higher.
She previously addressed trolling against her on Loose Women, insisting: “You don’t have to agree with me. I don’t have to agree with the panel. They don’t have to agree with me. That’s okay. But we can still talk to each other in a human-like fashion.”
Earlier this month, Shirley faced claims of ‘sexism’ again over her scoring of some of the female celebs.
During the show on September 30, Shirley scored Ellie and Angela Rippon both 7s compared to her fellow judges’ scores of 8s. She also gave Zara a lower score compared to her judges.
One viewer claimed at the time: “Shirley doesn’t even try to hide her jealousy/dislike of the young female celebs like that was more than a 5.”
Another wrote: “Ahh Shirley’s undermarking of the younger female contestants has begun.”
However, others were quick to defend the judge. After Shirley criticised Nigel‘s performance, one pointed out: “The people normally angry at Shirley for being critical of females are now angry at her for being critical of a male contestant.”
Another insisted: “See you lot accuse Shirley of having male favourites every year, then when she doesn’t you do this. She can’t win.”
ED! has contacted reps for Shirley for comment.
Strictly continues this Saturday (November 4) from 7:05pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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