Vito Coppola has spoken out in support of his Strictly Come Dancing partner Fleur East, after some viewers claim she 'fell' in the dance-off at the weekend, as James Bye was sent home.
Having landed in the bottom two a few weeks earlier, Fleur and Vito were hoping to avoid the same fate when they performed a salsa to Beyonce's Break My Soul for Halloween Week. While their scores put them away from the danger zone, the former X Factor star and her Italian pro fell victim to the 'middle of the leaderboard curse' once again, as they landed in the Strictly dance-off alongside EastEnders actor James and his partner Amy Dowden.
With James and Amy having finished at the foot of the standings on Saturday night, they were the favourites to go and it was them who were eliminated, after both couples had danced again and the judges had their say on who should stay in the competition. However, while plenty of fans were glad Fleur stayed and were angry she was in the bottom two again, others argued she should have gone after a stumble in her performance.
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Taking to Instagram after the results show finished, Sax singer Fleur described James as 'a true gent,' before saying she was 'thankful' the judges had put her and Vito through. Vito was one of the many people to comment on Fleur's post, offering a very public show of support to his dance partner. He wrote underneath: "Hey partner… you make me proud every week more. You smashed it! I am enjoying every single number, every single week, day and moment with you.
He added: "You are such a strong woman. Such an example," before ending the post by saying: "Let's now think about our next dance."
This Saturday, Fleur and East will take on a very different challenge to the salsa, as they dance a Viennese Waltz to Elton John classic I Guess That's Why They Call it The Blues.
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