Maisie smith age
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Strictly: Erin Boag reveals age is a factor in Maisie Smith repeatedly landing in bottom two

She's being pitted against HRVY, the former Strictly pro says

Maisie Smith, at the age of just 19, has found herself in the Strictly Come Dancing bottom two twice in a row this series.

And former Strictly professional dancer Erin Boag thinks she knows why.

She’s light on her feet and a hit with the judges, but Erin thinks the “demographic of who’s voting” just isn’t going in her favour.

Maisie’s tender age and the fact that viewers doubtless pit her against HRVY mean the results are about more than just dance ability, Erin has revealed.

strictly come dancing final
Maisie Smith and partner Gorka Marquez have found themselves in the bottom two twice in a row (Credit: BBC)

What did Erin Boag say about Maisie Smith?

Speaking to FUBAR Radio, she dismissed claims Maisie hasn’t won over the viewing public because she was so good to start with.

“Well you could say that. But then Harvey has been great since the beginning as well,” Erin said.

The dancer admitted that she thinks it’s a lot more complex than it might seem on the surface.

Read more: HRVY warned by BBC bosses about getting close to Maisie Smith

“You’ve got to look at the demographic of who’s voting. You think like this because I’m a pro,” said the dancer who left the show in 2012.

“You think, most of them are ladies that are voting. So you get the housewives or the young girls that are voting.

“Now you’ve got two in there relatively the same age, which is Harvey and Maisie right? So who are they going to vote for? They are probably going to go with Harvey.

“Let’s face it, he’s 21, he’s very, very lovely and pretty and gorgeous. And they are all going: ‘Oh, he’s so lovely!’”

Maisie Smith on the 2020 Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor
At the tender age of just 19, Maisie Smith has doubtless found the support from the public disappointing (Credit: BBC)

Erin added: “Then you have the swinging vote. So where you get somebody knocked out, you’ve got the people that were voting for them and then they swing somewhere else.

Read more: Maisie Smith reveals she has put on weight despite gruelling Strictly training sessions

Now you’ve got two in there relatively the same age, which is Harvey and Maisie right? So who are they going to vote for? They are probably going to go with Harvey.

“So you’ve got to look at who that they could possibly vote for. I mean you just don’t know.”

Erin Boag and Anton Du Beke on the red carpet
Erin would love Anton to get a full-time judging role on the show (Credit: Splash News)

BBC ‘should listen’ and promote Anton

One thing Erin does know, though, is that she’s backing her dance partner Anton Du Beke to bag a full-time place on the judging panel.

“There’s been so many occasions where he could have been a judge. People have left. But they’ve never asked him and I don’t know why, because he is the perfect criteria for a judge,” she said.

“I hope, one day, that maybe there will be a chance for him to go into a role like that.

“Sometimes I think the BBC should listen. Because I think the audience really want him to be there. They really want him to be there. So hopefully, one day that might happen.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor