Strictly Come Dancing viewers have called on producers to remove the casting vote after Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu were eliminated following a split dance-off decision.
During the results show, Bethany and Nancy faced Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby in the bottom two. Bethany, known for her role in House of the Dragon, and Nancy had performed a Foxtrot to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis on Saturday night, earning 30 points out of 40 and finishing fourth on the leaderboard. Cach and Maddie danced a Waltz to That Ain't You by Mulaa Joans, scoring 26 points and sitting joint bottom alongside John Nellis and Katya Jones.
Judges split on dance-off
In the dance-off, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse saved Bethany and Nancy, while Anton Du Beke opted for Cach and Maddie. Head judge Shirley Ballas used her casting vote to also save Cach and Maddie, meaning Bethany and Nancy were sent home.
At the start of the 2025 series, the head judge's permanent casting vote was replaced with an alternating judge each week. Now, fans are arguing that the public should have the final say when the judges' vote ends in a tie.
Fans call for change
One viewer wrote on X: "I think when it's a split vote in a dance-off, rather than one judge having the casting vote & disregarding the other judges votes, it should go back to the public vote & the couple who actually got the lowest votes should go home."
Another agreed: "Said it once & I'll say it again, this judges casting vote is wrong/unfair 2-1 to going home, Shirley should've voted like others judges & if 2-2 revert to PUBLIC VOTE!!"
A third echoed: "Why don't they revert to the public vote when the judges are at a deadlock? That would make things fairer especially with the casting vote changing week to week."
Bethany's farewell
After her exit, Bethany 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."
Turning to Nancy, she added: "You have brought out a side of me that I didn't think I would ever get to see. I'm gonna miss you so much. I am so grateful for everything you've taught me."
