Strictly Come Dancing fans have been praising It Takes Two host Fleur East for her emotional interview with eliminated contestant Jamie Borthwick.
EastEnders star Borthwick was the ninth celebrity to be booted out of the dancing competition on Sunday night, after judges voted to save Gladiators athlete Montell Douglas and her partner Johannes Radebe in the dance-off.
When the results show aired, fans argued that The Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks – who was at the bottom of the leaderboard last week – should have ended up in the dance-off over Douglas or Borthwick.
Appearing on Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two after his elimination, Borthwick and his pro partner Michelle Tsiakkas grew emotional as they watched back a highlights reel from their best moments on the dancing show.
After watching the clip, East looked as though she had tears in her eyes when Borthwick asked her, “Are you crying as well?”
“Yeah, it’s got me emotional watching it back,” said admitted, before collecting herself and asking him, “Which dance do you think defines your Strictly experience?”
“As much as I loved the Rumba, that Paso…. I loved that Paso.”
While viewers were sad to see Borthwick go, they heaped praise upon East for her heartfelt interviewing in comparison to her It Takes Two co-host Janette Manrara.
One fan was so in awe of East that they demanded that she presents all week, writing on X/Twitter: “Can’t we have Fleur all week please?!’.
Another added: “Fleur is an easier watch than Janette Manrara, get rid of janette and have fleur as the presenter #ItTakesTwo.”
A third person chimed: “Say it again Fleur is much better on this than Janette #ItTakesTwo.”
Borthwick’s elimination came after a competitive week in the competition, which saw the judges award the first full score of the series.
The highest-scoring dance from Saturday night’s show was performed by Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec, who delivered a show-stopping American Smooth to Lewis Capald’s “Someone You Loved”, scoring the 40 of the series.
They were joined by JB Gill and Lauren Oakley at the top of the leaderboard, who scored 39 for their Charleston to “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby” by Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Propping up the table were Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał, who danced a Tango Phil Collins and Phil Bailey’s 1984 song “Easy Lover”. They were awarded a not-so-impressive score of 29.
