08 November 2023 , 14:33
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Strictly Come Dancing legend James Jordan claims Adam Thomas "was stitched up" as the judges ruled to save Angela Rippon over him in the dreaded dance off.
The Emmerdale actor was voted out of the competition last weekend, losing a dance-off alongside partner Luba Mushtuk to Angela Rippon and her professional co-star Kai Widdrington. He broke down in tears discussing the ordeal on It Takes Two.
Former Strictly professional dancer James has now spoken out about the axing, weighing in on an ongoing 'favouritism' row amid complaints from viewers that 'the wrong person went home'. Jordan insists Adam was hit with 'unfair' scoring from judges.
Jordan James has weighed in on the 'favouritism' row (Hello!)Speaking on Hello's Strictly The Truth podcast, he explained: "This was an unanimous decision. Every single judge said they would have saved Angela. Did they do that to almost justify the decision? I would have saved Adam. They got that totally wrong. Krishnan should have been bottom of the leaderboard. I have no idea how they put him fourth from bottom.
"It was by far the worst dance of the night. We're letting Krishnan get away with getting 8s yet Adam does a really difficult dance and does a really great job, but it's almost as if they crucified Adam for not having enough rumba content. Yet Layton, who didn't have masses of jive, content got tens. You can't do for one what you don't do for another. I feel Adam was stitched up. That's my personal feeling. Adam was clearly better."
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James said that Angela "made a lot of mistakes" throughout her performance and that she was "wobbling quite a bit". He says that none of the judges said anything about the newsreader's performance, adding: "It's almost as if they want to get her through, they're like 'let's get Angela to Blackpool'."
It comes after Adam himself spoke for the first time since being sent home. He wiped away tears as he addressed the judges' decision to send him home on spin-off series It Takes Two. Adam found himself in the dreaded dance-off for the second week in a row, with him saved the previous week when Zara McDermott was sent packing.
Angela, 79, and Kai performed their Waltz to Fascination by Nat King Cole while Adam and his dance partner Luba Mushtuk performed their Rumba to Dancing On My Own by Callum Scott in a bid to impress the judges. The judges sent Adam and Luba home, and on Monday night he spoke about his exit for the first time.
Adam lost the dance off over the weekend (BBC)Asked by host Fleur East about the dance-off, Adam told her: "I knew going up against Angela we'd be in trouble. She’s amazing, but if anyone was going to send us home I'm happy it was Angela, she’s amazing. She is so elegant and I am really happy for her."
It comes as fans fumed over the decision, believing "the wrong person" had been sent home. Following his emotional exit on Sunday, Adam's fans have been left fuming and have been lashing out on social media. One fan fumed on X, formally Twitter: "Only caught the dance off of this week’s #Strictly and it was clearly the wrong decision?"
Another agreed, writing: "Sorry, wrong decision. Adam had a lot of potential to keep getting better, his scores have been consistently climbing. Angela is great, especially considering her age, but she has a lot of experience, and realistically she won’t get any better than she is now. #strictly." A third fan wrote: "No hate to Angela at all, because I think she is getting too much negativity from people. But I do think Adam danced better in the dance off, Angela's waltz was very lumpy. Sorry but I think the judges made the wrong decision."
After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts with Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas unanimously choosing to save Angela and Kai. Adam has faced a series of health woes while on the show – as he revealed that he had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis earlier this year.