TV

Strictly star issued an apology ahead of finale

Apparently the apology's on behalf of the whole nation

Alexandra Burke found herself getting an apology on behalf of the whole country when she appeared on Chris Evans’ radio show today.

The Strictly Come Dancing star and pro dancer Gorka Marquez were on the BBC Radio 2 programme to chat about this weekend’s Strictly finale.

But first of all, Chris wanted to make it clear he does NOT agree with them ever being in the bottom two.

Alexandra and Gorka were in the dance-off against Davood Ghadami and Nadiya Bychkova two weeks ago, and also against Susan Calman and Kevin Clifton the week before.

Read more: Christmas heartbreak for Mark Wright

In both cases, the judges chose to save Alex and Gorka and send the others home.

Welcoming Alex and Gorka to the studio, Chris said: “You were upset, quite rightly so, and I would like to apologise on behalf of Great Britain because we forgot to vote for you and that’s all it was.

“I know you took it to heart. But I came on the radio the next day and said, ‘I think she thinks something that isn’t right or accurate’. We just didn’t think we needed to vote for you!”

Alexandra replied: “And that’s what Strictly has said to me as well. Understandably so.

“If you’re at the top of the leaderboard, people will think you are safe. If I was watching, I wouldn’t vote for the person at the top. I’d think they’d be fine, I’ll vote for someone who needs it.”

Chris then admitted that he watches Strictly every year with his wife, but they very rarely vote as they just enjoy the show for what it is.

But he said Alexandra and Gorka being in the bottom two had really proven how important it is to vote for your favourite couple and never assume anyone is safe.

Alexandra said: “The fact is, [the last time we were in the bottom two], we got to dance the Charleston again and I loved the Charleston so I said, ‘Let’s just do it, have fun and hope for the best’. You can’t have any expectations of these sort of shows.

“It was hard but I totally get it.

“We’re here now because of the votes so I can only thank those who have voted for us to get to this point because it’s a massive achievement.”

Chris said he thinks Alexandra is the favourite to win the show, but his wife is on Team Joe McFadden.

Alex, meanwhile, said she doesn’t mind who wins as long as it’s the couple who gives the best performance on the night.

She and Gorka will go up against Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec, Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice, and Joe McFadden and Katya Jones.

This year’s Strictly final will have one major change from previous years: there will be no early elimination mid-way through the show.

In previous years, all four couples had performed two dances each, before one was voted out, leaving three to progress to a further dance.

So all four finalists will be performing three times.

Read more: Ant McPartlin shares rare photo of lookalike sister Sarha

They will perform a Showdance, a Judges’ Pick and their own Favourite Dance of the series, and it’s down to the public to vote for the winner. Sorry, judges, no power for you!

Strictly’s final kicks off from Saturday at 6.30pm on BBC1.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor