Strictly Come Dancing professional Vincent Simone has offered his theory on why Jaime Winstone has faced the dance-off twice this series. The actress was saved by three judges after landing in the bottom two against Shaun Wright-Phillips last weekend.
This week, she performed again with her professional partner Carlos Gu for the Halloween special, hoping her Salsa would keep her in the competition for another week.
Song Choice Under Scrutiny
Former professional dancer Vincent Simone has been closely watching this year's series and has shared his opinions on the contestants' routines. When asked why he thinks the daughter of actor Ray Winstone has been in the dance-off twice, he pointed to the song selection for their Foxtrot, Olivia Dean's Man I Need, as potentially affecting public votes.
Speaking to Paddy Power Games, he said: "I don't know, really. The way she did those spins was unbelievable."
"I was watching the show with some other fellow dancers, and we all went, 'Oh wow, look at her spins.' I don't know. Do we blame the dance, the music? It wasn't the best, because she did the Foxtrot, and the Foxtrot is a smooth, slightly romantic, slick dance."
Critique of the Routine
Vincent added: "I think sometimes the songs don't really help the dance. I can't remember the name of the song, but if you play the song, you'll never think, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to dance a beautiful Foxtrot to this song'."
"So sometimes that doesn't help," he added. "And there were also all the fast steps at the start and the finish. I just like a bit more simple, a bit more Foxtrot dancing. There weren't many slow fox steps, in my opinion."
"There was only a little bit. They could have done a bit more of that and kept it a bit more ballroom-ish. I think it went a bit too open, too soon, for a bit too long."
Leaderboard Position and Public Perception
Vincent also reckoned that Jaime's mid-table position on the leaderboard might have given viewers a false sense of security about her avoiding the dance-off. "I guess that's what has happened in the past. People think, 'Oh, they're in the middle, they're fine'," he continued.
"I think people must have thought they were safe, unless they didn't particularly like that dance in general, because it didn't really give you much emotion," he continued. "It wasn't a beautiful, smooth Foxtrot," he added, branding their routine "too happy" and "a bit too bouncy".
This follows former Strictly Come Dancing professional Ian Waite weighing in on whether this year's contestants with celebrity relatives might have an edge in the contest. He shared: "I personally don't think so at all. I don't think anybody cares, really. Well, certainly I don't. I mean, I just look at them the same as anybody else, you know."
"Obviously, they'll have had some sort of advantage in show business because they already are the son or daughter of somebody famous. But, you know, it doesn't always work out that way."
