Strictly Come Dancing’s Ashley Roberts speaks out after shock dance off

Ashley Roberts has spoken out after her surprise appearance in the Strictly Come Dancing dance-off.

Graeme Swann was the ninth celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing as he faced Ashley Roberts in the dreaded dance off.

As always, the judges’ scores were combined with the results of the viewers’ votes to decide the lowest scoring two couples in the Strictly Come Dancing results.

It was Graeme’s fourth time in the dance off but the first for Ashley and a real shocker given her top marks from the judges.

Taking to Twitter after the result, Ashley reacted: “It is a fierce competition. I just want to say how GRATEFUL I am to be able to make it through to next week! I will go in the studio this week and work extra hard!

“I have learned so much by being a part of the @bbcstrictly family and am beyond thankful to continue on. Thank YOU”

Graeme went on to tell his fans online: “And so the @bbcstrictly adventure comes to an end. I embraced it with all I had and loved every minute. Your messages of love and support are beautiful and I thank you all. I’m the lucky one, I got to spend ten weeks with the truly incredible @OtiMabuse. ?❤️????”

Meanwhile, some viewers have accused the Strictly judges of being rude when making their decision in the dance off.

It was a unanimous decision from the panel to save Ashley with Craig Revel Horwood saying: “For me it’s a no brainer and the couple I’d like to save, Ashley and Pasha.”

Bruno Tonioli added: “No disrespect but it’s evident. Overall much much stronger on every level, come on, it’s Ashley. Ashley and Pasha.”

On Twitter, one Strictly fan wrote: “You didn’t have to be so mean, Bruno. Yes, it’s obvious that a professionally trained dancer with years of experience would be technically better than an enthusiastic amateur, but is that the point and spirit of #Strictly?”

Another posted: “Anyone else think that the #strictly judges owe @Swannyg66 an apology? So rude to him, there’s no need. That’s not the spirit of strictly. Really disappointed, particularly in Bruno. #rude”

And a third shared: “#Strictly judges particularly harsh on Swanny at the end. We saw you were annoyed Ashley was in the dance off….deal with it as professionals. Comments were uncalled for, especially from Bruno”

The remaining seven couples will take to the dancefloor next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday 1st December at 6.50pm, with the results show on Sunday 2nd December at 7.20pm on BBC One.

It’ll be a musicals themed special as the celebs dance for a place in the semi-final.