BBC Strictly viewers beg Shirley Ballas 'stop' as they issue same complaint during final
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left frustrated on Saturday night as the show's final aired, as they had a complaint for head judge Shirley Ballas. While Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell held up the coveted Glitterball trophy during the show, it was Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola's dance that had viewers talking.
Before Sarah, 53, and Vito, 32, wowed the judges with their American Smooth routine, a clip from their week of rehearsals played, which saw Shirley attending their training session to offer her help. "People are going to be looking for those finished extensions. You need to have soft knees. She's just got to bring it all together and sell it," Shirley began, before telling her: "Look, you've ended up in the final! I bet you didn't think that for a New York minute did you?!"
Shirley continued: "You represent, of course, all the women over 50, I'm 64. You get out there and you show women, 'You know what, you can do this.'" However, Shirley's mention of Sarah's age had many viewers frustrated, as they took to X to share their thoughts.
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"Shirley, stop mentioning Sarah’s age challenge she can just be amazing regardless of her age #strictly," wrote one fan, as another said: "I can’t do with Shirley constantly bringing up Sarah’s age She’s amazing, full stop."
"When will Shirley give Sarah’s age a rest it’s so undermining," wrote a third, while another said: "Why does Shirley always mention Sarah’s age though! She’s good, doesn’t matter that she’s over 50!"
While Sarah and Vito's performance was impressive, the latter did suffer a wardrobe malfunction during the routine as the zip of his trousers broke during the dance. The Italian dancer looked panicked over this wardrobe malfunction, and Sarah tried to cover up the area with some material from her dress, but it didn't help matters. Host Tess Daly couldn't ignore the problem either and tried to laugh it off as Vito held his trousers up. Following their dance, Tess asked: "Are you OK, Vito? We have a wardrobe issue. Are you OK? Are you able to maintain your decency?"
As Sarah tried to cover the broken zipper, Tess cried out: "You haven't got enough fabric! Oh, my goodness. I wish I had a towel. With that aside, I can say your dance was absolutely magical."
Turning to the judging panel, head judge Shirley said: "Well, there might have been a malfunction with your trousers, but there was no malfunction with your routine. That was absolutely superb."
