Strictly Come Dancing fans livid as Shirley Ballas gets Dianne Buswell’s name wrong again

Strictly Come Dancing fans have called out judge Shirley Ballas for getting Dianne Buswell’s name wrong.

The TV judge was back on the panel on Saturday night (December 7) for the semi-final of the series. Along with her fellow judges, Shirley was on hand to share her thoughts on the remaining celebs in the competition.

But things took an awkward turn when Shirley accidentally called Dianne the wrong name.

Shirley Ballas gets Dianne’s name wrong on Strictly

On Strictly on Saturday night (December 7) comedian Chris McCausland and pro partner Dianne Buswell took to the dance floor.

The pair performed a Charleston to When You’re Smiling by The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn – and their routine went down a treat with fans, as well as the four judges.

You [Chris] had springs in your shoes when Dianna went six inches off the floor

While Chris and Dianne received feedback from the judges though, head judge Shirley accidentally called Dianne “Diana”.

Shirley said: “You [Chris] had springs in your shoes when Dianna went six inches off the floor.”

Strictly judge Shirley Ballas under fire

Following Shirley’s blunder, it didn’t take fans long to take to X to comment. One person said: “Stop calling her Diana fgs.”

So rude and disrespectful

Someone else added: “Not Shirley calling Dianne Diana AGAIN.” A third chimed in: “I picked up on this too! So so disrespectful I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.” Echoing their thoughts, another fumed: “So rude and disrespectful- Get. Her. Name. Right. Ffs.”

Strictly judge Shirley Ballas has mispronounced Dianne’s name several times in the past. In 2022, she made the mistake for two weeks in a row. Dianne later defended Shirley, saying the name blunder “doesn’t offend me”.

Chris and Dianne on Strictly

Elsewhere on the show, things took an emotional turn after Chris and Dianne’s second dance. The pair performed a stunning Viennese Waltz.

For his two routines, Chris bagged an overall score of 69/80. Visibly overwhelmed by the occasion, he told host Claudia Winkleman he was “an emotional wreck”.

Fighting back tears herself, Claudia then asked Dianne why Chris deserved a place in next week’s final.

“I have taught Chris this whole time without a single visual cue. He’s never been able to watch a video back to see whether he’s done a great job or to look at anything and go ‘Well maybe I can improve on that’,” she gushed.

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