Dame Sarah Storey became the third celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing during week four of the competition, after she and her dance partner Julian Callion landed in the bottom two. The Paralympian, 48, faced Bethany Antonia in the dance-off during Sunday night's results show, and some viewers claimed she had been "sabotaged" by the theme of the week.
Fans react to Sarah Storey's exit
Sarah's Tango to Shania Twain's hit song Don't Impress Me Much failed to impress the judges, leaving her bottom of the leaderboard. However, some fans argued that the song choice gave her an unfair disadvantage.
One X user fumed: "The right person won in that dance off, having said that, Sarah was definitely sabotaged by that stupid theme. Imagine dancing a tango to a jolly pop song. A tango is fierce full of passion, not a happy go lucky dance. The theme let her down."
Other viewers echoed the sentiment, with one writing: "So did the choice of outfit." Another remarked: "Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it a terribly odd song choice for a tango!"
Leaderboard and judging criticism
On Saturday night, fans also slammed the judges' scoring as they took aim at the "mess" of a leaderboard. The remaining couples performed routines to songs by Elton John, Shania Twain, ABBA and Adele during Icons Week.
Cach and Maddie and Jaime and Carlos were joint top of the leaderboard with 34 points, while Sarah and Julian were at the bottom with 21 points, followed by Dani and Nikita with 25 points. The middle of the leaderboard saw more ties with three celebrities scoring 29 points (Lacey, Tabby and John), while Graeme and Shaun bagged 28 points.
Judges' future in question
Meanwhile, sources close to the BBC show have suggested the judges are concerned that the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman could lead to their exits. Their contracts finish at the end of this season, meaning head judge Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke will need to renegotiate with the corporation.
Insiders suggest that Shirley may not return for what would be her 11th series, with speculation that she may relocate to the US to spend more time with her son Mark, a professional dancer on America's Dancing With The Stars, and his two children.
