Legendary TV host Jeff Stelling has hit out at the producers of Strictly Come Dancing for ‘ruining’ the line-up after Paul Merson’s exit on Sunday night.
Former Arsenal and England footballer Paul, 56, made it to week five of the competition before being unanimously voted out of the dance-off.
His samba routine with dance partner Karen Hauer wasn’t enough to convince Craig Revel-Horwood, MotsiMabuse, Shirley Balls, and Anton Du Beke, who saved former JLS singer JB Gill instead.
But after the result, one of Paul’s former colleagues, Jeff, has slammed those who decided on the Strictly line-up for including too many people with a dance background.
Jeff, 69, co-presented Sky Sports’ weekend afternoon show Soccer Saturday alongside Paul between 2006 and 2023.
And Jeff, who was recently awarded an MBE, had some choice words for the BBC after seeing his friend and former colleague knocked out of the contest last night.
In a tweet, he said: ‘Proud of you, Merse. Shame they ruin the show by including people who are trained dancers or have musical theatre backgrounds.’
He carried on, continuing to criticise the choice of celebrities in the line-up: ‘Should be people who don’t have any dance training, in my opinion. But you were brilliant!’
Jeff’s message was sent in response to a tweet Paul had already sent, thanking people for their support throughout the series and saying working with Karen had been a ‘pleasure’.
In this year’s competition, former boyband member JB and ex-Love Island star Tasha Ghouri have both experienced previous dance and choreography training.
JB was a member of JLS between 2008 and 2013, starring in the group’s music videos and doing live performances which featured dance routines and complex choreography.
Meanwhile, Tasha trained as a dancer at the Creative Academy as a teenager and has entered some dance competitions. However, both have very limited ballroom experience.
In the 2023 competition, finalist Layton Williams had performed on the West End from the age of 14, training in jazz, tap, and ballet, while former Pussycat Dolls member Ashley Roberts had also had previous experience before entering in 2018.
As for Paul, his exit in week five means he won’t match the progress made by his former Arsenal teammate Tony Adams, who made it all the way to week eight in 2022.
However, after picking up an injury during the live show on that Saturday, he declined to compete in the dance-off and withdrew from the competition.
‘You have grown week after week,’ said head judge Shirley about Tony’s performance. ‘I, on behalf of the judges, have enjoyed every second of watching you, and I can only wish you the very best, please carry on dancing.’
Paul’s exit means he’ll miss out on Halloween Week during next Saturday’s live show, with JB progressing in the competition with partner Amy Dowden.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to the BBC for comment.
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