Furious Strictly Come Dancing fans say 'something smells here' as they switch off in protest
Strictly Come Dancing fans have reacted with disbelief and no end of anger after last night's episode of the BBC hit saw Sam Quek and her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin sent packing. Some said the programme was "definitely a fix" with one insisting: "I've love to actually see the votings." Another posted: "How on earth were you and Montell In dance off? I’m sorry but something smells here!!!!"
Last night's episode saw Sam face Montell Douglas, the Olympian best known for starring as Fire in Gladiators, in a dance-off to decide their fate. Despite two impressive performances, the judges had to send one couple home and voted unanimously to save Montell and doom Sam, 36. The decision saw some fans declaring that the decision marked the end of their viewing of Strictly this year.
One told Sam: "That’s it for me as no need to watch Strictly again this year! I still feel though if you had followed my suggestions from last week you would have got more votes to avoid the dance-off. Make the most of ‘you’ and your fantastic legs as you tried at end of the results show!"
READ MORE:Strictly Come Dancing star announces 'sad' split from wife after nine years of marriage
Another said: "Not on Facebook but there's no way you should be out of Strictly. Refused to watch it tonight ! Bet you gave an eloquent & beautiful speech at the end. You two were a joy to watch, thank you."
A third agreed: "It wasn't your time to go, Sam. Poorer dancers got through without being in the dance off this week. Really feel sad that you were in the bottom two. I hope you realise how good you were."
A clearly heartbroken Sam - famous for her TV appearances and high-profile career as a hockey star - shared a long message to her fans on Facebook after getting axed from the series, graciously insisting that Montell was a better dancer than she was. She said: "Oh no I’m out! Here’s some words from me...
"Firstly, I want to thank my teammate, Nikita. As the weeks ticked on, I got to know you on a deeper level and the way I can sum you up to people who perhaps don’t know you is to say that you have a really good heart. For me, that’s your best quality without a doubt. Of course, there is also your dedication to your craft and your professionalism which is something I respect so much. As a partnership, we agreed to shoot for the moon and if we missed, we might land amongst the stars."
She added: "As the weeks progressed, we did indeed shoot for the moon… but all too often I missed a step or was out of time and instead of landing amongst the stars, we actually up in some random farmers field somewhere…
"Your beautiful choreography often deserved a lot more than I was able to deliver in the moment, but never once did you blame me, make me feel responsible or do anything but pick me up and say we go again and that you were proud of my performance. You were the ultimate teammate. Thank you.
"Secondly, I want to thank everyone associated with the show. I was thoroughly blown away by the Strictly experience and the sheer excellence of everyone involved from the presenters, band, stage handlers, floor team, make-up artists, costume design etc… everything was exceptional. It was inspiring. Never in my life will I be a part of such an impressive machine."
Sam went on: "For me… Strictly was tougher than I imagined. I held myself to the highest standard I could and put an expectation on myself that in hindsight may have been unrealistic. But my respect for the show, my partner and my family meant I was going to give the process everything I had.
"Physically, by day, I danced my feet red raw and repeated the weeks routine until my legs couldn’t hold me up. By night, ice bathed, massaged and prepared to for the next day by watching my routine over and over.
"Mentally, the process was even more demanding. I missed my 2 year old and 3 year old – all the time! I would often do 10 day stints in a hotel and hearing them ask me to “come home now”, was tough. What people perhaps don’t realise is the “Strictly Journey” starts two weeks before it hits the TV screens with pre-press photos, training starting etc so the time you are away is considerable.
"But what was more draining was working as hard as I could, sacrificing everything I needed to and still ending up towards the bottom of the leaderboard. It saps your motivation and kills your belief, but my family and Nikita were always there to help me push on."
However, she added: "I must stress, I knew what I was signing up for. And when I commit to something, I give it everything I have for as long as I have to. I have no regrets about what I put into this process. That’s why I cannot be too sad about leaving. I gave everything I had. I fell short and that’s ok, because there was nothing more I could have done.
"The payoff for all that work though was that every week, for one night, I got to live a dream. The most amazing dream and one I will miss so, so much. I’d do the hard yards ten times over for those Saturdays again.
"The banter with the make-up girls, the hair styling, the being made to feel like a real-life princess in the most amazing costumes, dancing on one of the most notorious stages in the world with the most wonderful professional whom had expertly crafted our routine. My word I will miss it!
"As for my final dance… losing a Dance-Off isn’t great, in fact the competitor in me hates it, but Montell is a better dancer than me and this is a dance competition after all – so fair dos.
"In closing, I want to share with you a little off camera moment that helped put everything into perspective for me, which happened a couple of weeks ago….
"When JB and Amy found themselves in the bottom two, the entire audience were in a state of shock. As the two of them took to the floor to do their dance-off, they weren’t greeted with the usual warm applause and support from the crowd, such was the tension, surprise and awkwardness in the studio. Amy turned around to the audience and said, 'Come on folks… it’s just a dance-off… it’s not a year of chemotherapy!'
"A sobering reminder that there are bigger and more important things going on around the world then Strictly Come Dancing… amongst the glitz, glamour, twirls and lifts you can sometimes forget that."
She concluded: "I look forward to whatever my future holds and thank you all for the amazing support and well wishes throughout my strictly experience. Sam x."
