Strictly Come Dancing stars Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin have taken a playful swipe at the judges after their routine was penalised for an illegal lift. The pair performed to The Apprentice theme tune during the BBC's 100th birthday special, scoring 30 points, but head judge Shirley Ballas deducted a point for an assisted lift at the beginning.
Craig Revel Horwood insisted it was an 'illegal lift', saying they held on and spun for too long. Appearing on BBC Two's It Takes Two, Nikita mocked Craig's voice, saying: 'I love the fact that it was illegal.' He added that his only goal was to get Ellie down safely and in a spectacular manner.
Ellie chimed in with 'Safety first, safety first,' as Nikita continued: 'If that's the only thing that keeps us away from a 10, I can live with it.' The pair said it was 'amazing' to hear viewers were on their side, and they would 'still have kept it in' despite the comments.
Fans had rushed to social media to slam the judges over their comments, and some were concerned when Nikita appeared to 'disappear' from screens after the performance. However, Nikita cleared things up, joking on social media that he had ripped his trousers and needed them sewn for the third time.
