James Jordan has defended Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke over a comment he made to Helen Skelton last night.
During Saturday’s Blackpool special, Anton made a remark to Helen while giving her feedback on her performance with Gorka Marquez.
He told her: “You were amazing. You’ve been brilliant from the neck down through this whole competition. Tonight, you were great from the neck up. Well done!”
James Jordan on Strictly
The comment left many viewers baffled on Twitter as one said: “Anton to Helen: ‘You’ve been great from the neck down throughout this competition – tonight you were great from the neck up.’ That’s not a compliment is it?”
Another wrote: “Ummm…. From the neck up? Not really a good compliment, @TheAntonDuBeke.”
Now, former Strictly professional James has defended Anton’s remark and insisted it’s a “dancer’s phrase”.
He and his wife Ola Jordan, who was also a professional dancer on the show, shared their thoughts in their Hello! column.
James said: “It’s actually a dancer’s phrase. I used to get told that I look great from the ankles down, for example.
“It just means that her head positioning was out of line, or facially she wasn’t convincing enough with her character… Anton certainly didn’t mean to imply that Helen was ugly!”
It was a bit unfortunate – it made us laugh!
Ola added: “He should have really just said it straight with her, that her head positioning was wrong. It was a bit unfortunate – it made us laugh!”
James also reacted to Anton’s comment as he tweeted during the show last night.
He wrote shortly after Anton’s remark: “Can I just mention Anton’s comment,” followed by a laughing face emoji.
He added: “I know exactly what he meant but maybe didn’t come out as expected. ‘You’re normally great from the neck down.'”
Many of James’ followers also shared their thoughts as one said: “I totally got what he meant.
“For me this was the first time Helen danced looking up and out to the audience. It was fantastic to see her truly perform and enjoy.”
Another laughed: “He’s just brilliant…. Love his comments!!!”
Meanwhile, a third added: “We did have to giggle and then explain to our son what he meant, which made it even funnier.”
Following their performance last night, Gorka took to Instagram to gush over Helen.
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He wrote: “WOW Blackpool! Still in cloud nine after yesterday’s show. That feeling after our dance and seeing everyone’s reactions means everything!
“@helenskelton I am so proud of you and the way you danced last night but I’m more of how much you enjoyed it on that floor. You’re a superstar!!!”
The Strictly results show airs on BBC One, tonight, from 7:20pm.
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