Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Vincent Simone has suggested that Dani Dyer was fortunate to avoid the dance-off, claiming her Halloween-themed performance may have masked weaknesses in her routine.
Speaking on behalf of Paddy Power, Simone, 47, who was a professional dancer on the show from 2006 until 2012, said that Dyer, 30, and her partner Nikita Kuzmin, 28, received higher marks partly because of her zombie costume and character.
Halloween theme 'helped' Dani Dyer
Simone remarked: "I was talking to other professionals about this as well. Dani [Dyer] with Nikita [Kuzmin], for example, I think got higher marks and were lucky because she was playing a Halloween character, with the costume and the impression of being a zombie, and that helped her. If she had done the exact same dance in a simple ballroom dress, with different lighting and a different song, I think she would have been in trouble."
He added: "Sometimes the style and the theme can help couples get through, because there's a lot of disguise, with the wigs and everything else, so that can go in their favour. If we stripped them down to basics, I think Dani would have been in the bottom as well."
Triple dance-off history
Dyer had impressed viewers with a haunting Viennese Waltz to Rogers & Hammerstein's 'My Favourite Things' during Halloween week, scoring 32 points out of 40. However, the episode featured the first triple dance-off in the show's history.
Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu, Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał, and Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu all found themselves in the bottom and had to perform their routines again. Lawrence Robb was eliminated from the competition on Sunday.
What's next for Dani and Nikita
Ahead of their next performance on Saturday night, Dyer and Kuzmin appeared on Good Morning Britain on November 4, where host Susanna Reid teased a move that has "never been done before on the Strictly dance floor."
When asked what the move was, Kuzmin admitted: "I can't really say what it is just yet. We will try it tomorrow for the first time if it actually works."
