BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans 'know why' Giovanni Pernice and Richie Anderson were eliminated from show
10.10.2022 - 13:11
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left gobsmacked when movie week turned into a horror when Richie Anderson and his dance partner Giovanni Pernice and Fleur East and Vito Coppola landed in the bottom two and therefore had to dance again for their survival in the BBC One dance contest on Sunday night.
After the second public vote of the 20th series, both couples were revealed to have received the fewest votes and had to reprise their third week dances again after the red light of doom landed on them. Richie and Giovanni performed their head-turning samba to Hakuna Matata from the much-loved Disney movie The Lion King.
During the judges’ comments on Saturday, head judge Shirley Ballas joked: “I don’t think I’ll ever look at Giovanni the same again,” after the pair donned Lion King costumes for their performance. BBC Radio 2 host Richie dressed as mischievous meerkat Timon, while reigning champ Gio, 32, was dressed as warthog Pumbaa.
READ MORE: BBC Strictly fans demand Shirley Ballas is 'replaced' as they erupt over Fleur East decision
It was then over to former The X Factor contestant Fleur, 34, who re-performed the American smooth to Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid with her dance partner, new Italian pro Vito. And it was their performance that was enough to save them from elimination with the judges almost unanimously voting to save them.
Head judge Shirley, however, went against her fellow judges for a second week and said she would have opted to save Richie and Giovanni. Queen of Latin Shirley said: "Well with the two couples the public put in the bottom two I would have saved Richie and Giovanni."
While some lashed out at Shirley over her decision, other Strictly fans flocked to social media to share the