Strictly Come Dancing viewers outraged after ‘wrong couple’ eliminated in shock result

Strictly Come Dancing viewers are anything but happy with the latest elimination.

As the BBC dance competition hit the halfway point this weekend, expectations were high, and while some couples soared up the leaderboard, others fell flat.

Dani Dyer topped the scoreboard with 36 for her gorgeous American smooth, while Graeme Hall’s tearful couple’s choice didn’t quite strike the right notes.

This resulted in a shock bottom two, as Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu had to dance for survival against Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby.

Unfortunately for Bethany and Nancy, their Strictly experience has come to an end.

Both pairs performed their routines again: Bethany and Nancy did their foxtrot to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, and Cach and Maddie performed their waltz to That Ain’t You by Mulaa Joans.

Delivering their verdicts, the judges were torn, meaning Shirley Ballas’s casting vote determined the outcome.

Anton Du Beke chose to save Cach and Maddie, while Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse both voted to save Bethany and Nancy.

Head judge Shirley was then given the deciding vote, and since she, too, opted to save Cach and Maddie, Bethany and Nancy were confirmed to be leaving the show.

Speaking to host Emma Willis after learning her fate, Bethany grew tearful as she reflected on ‘the most amazing time’.

The House of the Dragon star said: ‘To go out on this dance and to feel the magic of getting to do that kind of routine and what it means and what it stands for just means everything to me.’

‘You have brought out a side of me that I didn’t think I would ever get to see,’ she told Nancy. ‘I’m gonna miss you so much. I am so grateful for everything you’ve taught me.’

Nancy praised how Bethany ‘took all the criticism on board’ and ‘showed no fear’.

‘One thing I would love to tell her is: do not say to yourself that you can’t do it – because you can. You’ve made a lot of girls proud to watch you dance.’

Taking to social media, fans raged over the result, declaring that the ‘wrong’ couple was sent packing.

@Henry92589880 on X was baffled that Bethany and Nancy were eliminated since they scored 30 to Cach and Maddie’s 26 last night, while @superTV247 called it ‘the biggest joke of the series’.

@chaesmarts vented, ‘sorry how is this fair when Bethany had the better dance. Craig and motsi the only ones with sense’, while @annoyingCD said Cach’s routine was ‘full of technical flaws’.

@RyanSoapKing25 said their ‘heart breaks’ for Bethany and Nancy, and @Jamoffical_ declared they ‘didn’t have a bad dance’.

And while others accused Shirley of ‘favouritism’ towards Cach and Maddie, others suggested that landing in their first dance-off could be a ‘wake-up call’.

@bigjmamacitaaa said they ‘got lucky’ this weekend, while @ameliashcps is desperate for Cach to ‘lock in’ so he can make it to the Blackpool milestone in two weeks.

Bethany and Nancy had already survived two dance-offs before their third strike, telling Metro ahead of this weekend’s live show they weren’t paying attention to online speculation that they’d be next on the chopping block.

‘We are hilariously offline. It’s painful,’ the actress laughed. ‘But in a really nice way, because it makes the process feel so much more intimate.’

The 28-year-old added: ‘When we finish, there’ll be plenty of time to go back and read everything, but while we’re in it, it’s just about us in those 90 seconds of a routine, and it feels like something that needs to be cherished and kept close.’

Nancy, 35, praised Bethany’s ‘strength’ and ‘growth’ throughout the contest, in which they became Strictly’s first same-sex partnership in three years.

‘Just being here feels like we’ve already won,’ Bethany told us. ‘For me, this is the kind of representation that is so important and makes such a difference, and it’s just being in the space.

‘Being in the space and not necessarily being there loudly is sometimes more effective and useful than making a big song and dance about it – literally – and to me, it feels like this is exactly what I wanted the process to be like.’

Elsewhere tonight, the results show commemorated Remembrance Sunday with a group performance from the professionals, choreographed by Lizzie Gough and set to the Peter Gabriel arrangement of Heroes.

The stunning number was inspired by The Monument to the Women of World War II and focused on the lives of women during the conflict.

Also, viewers were treated to a musical performance by Gregory Porter, accompanied by a routine from Alexis Warr and Aljaž Škorjanec.

Nine couples remain in the running for the Glitter Ball now, including Jaime Winstone, who will hopefully return to the floor next weekend after missing Saturday’s show due to injury.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, November 14, at 6.25pm.