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Strictly Come Dancing fans left divided as bosses respond to 'fix' claim

The BBC have clarified what happened


fleur and vito© Photo: BBC
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
November 3, 2022
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Strictly Come Dancing bosses have spoken out on the "fix" reports of last week's dance-off involving Fleur East and Vito Coppola after the pair were allowed to re-start their routine.

MORE: Strictly star Fleur East's painful injury we all missed

The dancing couple, who beat James Bye and Amy Dowden after being voted through by the judges, were forced to halt their salsa during the recording of the salsa due to an "incident with a prop".

WATCH: Fleur East and Vito Coppola take HELLO!'s Strictly test

The BBC's statement explained: "After an incident with a prop at the beginning of Fleur and Vito's dance-off performance, the decision was made to halt proceedings to check they were not injured, as a matter of urgency.

"As they had not begun to dance before the incident occurred, it was decided they could start the performance again, once it was confirmed they were fit to do so."

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Strictly Fleur East and Vito dance off© Photo: BBC

Fleur and Vito were allowed to start their routine again

Sunday night's show is taped immediately after all the celebrities and their professional partners have taken to the floor on Saturday night. Fleur and Vito's prop incident was not shown on TV.

After the moment was reported, fans were quick to share their reaction and were divided on what they thought. One person wrote: "@bbcstrictly I don't get why everyone is surprised, [fixing has] happened since day one, with all judges fake."

A second tweeted: "How can Fleur have been given another chance to dance? It's a live show on Sundays and I didn't notice the chair fall etc. #SCD #fleureast #Strictly."

James Bye and Fleur East dance off© Photo: BBC

Fleur East beat James Bye in the dance-off

However, others were more supportive of Fleur and said: "It feels like there's a campaign against Fleur, she slipped before the actual dancing happened, she did fall during the routine too but despite that, she was still better than James. She shouldn't have even been in the dance-off."

A second fan wrote: "They are saying that Fleur took a tumble at the start of her dance-off routine on Sunday and she had to start her whole routine again. But clearly, they are doing it to downgrade her. I hope this doesn't put her at risk at the weekend. She's a great dancer. #Strictly." 

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