Strictly Come Dancing 2017: Jonnie Peacock loses place in competition after shock dance-off with favourite Debbie McGee

The Paralympian said he was "honoured" to be the first disabled contestant on the show 
All over: Jonnie Peacock has lost his place on Strictly Come Dancing
BBC
Jennifer Ruby19 November 2017

Jonnie Peacock is the latest star to lose his place on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing following a shock dance-off with former favourite Debbie McGee.

“It’s been an absolute honour to be the first disabled person on Strictly,” he said. “Hopefully this will pave the way for more in the future.”

All four judges voted to save McGee, with Craig Revel Horwood praising her “amazing” technical skills.

There were audible gasps from the audience when McGee was the first person announced for the dance-off following her Spice Girls-inspired routine, with Ballas even claiming she was “very surprised”.

Paralympian Peacock failed to impress the judges with his tango during Saturday night’s show, although Shirley Ballas was criticised for her “insensitive” remarks.

The head judge was slammed by viewers on Twitter for telling him to work on his leg movements, despite the fact that he is an amputee.

"I’m trying to dream in my mind about how I can help you with your posture. I think you need to think of the tailbone in your spine pointed down and your chest,” she said.

Magic: Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez dancing the quickstep
BBC/Guy Levy

“Everything just needs to be in a straight line, your tummy doesn’t need to be tucked too far forward just in a straight line.”

She added: “When the vertical line becomes much stronger, the legs operate much better. [Your] frame’s a little bit better, but still for me, posture really it’s got to better. Sorry.”

A number of viewers vented their anger over the remarks on Twitter during the show, with some branding her insensitive.

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 - In pictures

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McGee also had a disappointing night with her samba which was deemed “spiky and a little bit stiff” by Craig Revel Horwood.

Alexandra Burke fought back tears as she topped the leaderboard on Saturday night, getting a near-perfect score of 39.

Darcey Bussell hailed it “effortless and just gorgeous,” while Craig Revel Horwood deemed it “incredible”.

Burke faced tough competition from Gemma Atkinson who clinched 38 points for her “absolutely magic” American Smooth with Aljaž Škorjanec.

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