Claudia Winkleman defends 'rude' Shirley Ballas

From Prima

Claudia Winkleman has defended Shirley Ballas after she criticised the presenter's posture on Sunday night's Strictly Come Dancing, leaving fans divided over Shirley's comments.

The Strictly co-host insisted both she and Shirley had been 'laughing throughout' their exchange, clarifying on Twitter: 'I absolutely love @ShirleyBallas – we were laughing throughout. X'

Shirley also tweeted: 'Yes. One must have a sense of humor in today's society. X'

In response to one fan, who called her 'sooo rude', the judge added: 'Everything is in good fun. Obviously you need a sense of humor. Enjoy x'

Addressing another viewer's tweet and offensive name-calling, Shirley replied diplomatically: 'Claudia has an amazing sense of humor. I've been called worse'

The professional dancer also agreed with another fan who branded Claudia the 'queen of Strictly', tweeting: 'That she is'.

Reflecting on Alexandra Burke's dance during the judges' critique of the celebrities' performances at the weekend, the 57-year-old ballroom dancer said: 'She was slightly off balance but because she had such an amazing central line here she was able to save it and come off quite gracefully.'

Recruiting Claudia to demonstrate what she meant, Shirley asked: 'Can you stand up for a moment because you do slouch a little bit, so we'll just have you stand up.'

Claudia responded by saying: 'That's a brave thing to say.'

Placing her hands on Claudia's stomach and back, Shirley continued: 'The central part of the body is here, it's like a fuse box and if one part of the fuse goes out, the arms can be limp or the legs don't work or you slouch, so you have to pull in your fuse box, flatten your chest, feel like you're being pulled up by your ears, and now you should be able to sit down nice and straight.'

Shirley then instructed Claudia to emulate her posture as she sat back down.

Some fans suggested on Twitter that their interaction should have been edited out of the programme, while others accused Shirley of being 'rude'.

Others defended Shirley though, pointing out that she had asked Claudia's permission before critiquing her posture.