TV

Former Strictly star slams Aston’s exit as “DISGUSTING”

And he calls Craig an "embarrassment"

It was one of the biggest shocks in the history of Strictly – one of the show’s hottest favourites, Aston Merrygold, voted off with his professional dance partner Janette Manrara.

Needless to say, social media went into meltdown, with many fans up in arms about the former JLS singer’s exit.

And they aren’t the only ones to be upset by the result – former Strictly professional James Jordan has also weighed in on the debate.

The 39-year-old vented his fury in a series of tweets after the show, before taking part in a Facebook live chat with his wife Ola, in which he labelled Craig Revel Horwood an “embarrassment”.

Last week, Aston and Janette performed a sensational Paso Doble to Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit – and they would’ve been hoping to lap up the plaudits again on Saturday night.

However, their Viennese Waltz to the Jackson 5’s Who’s Loving You fell a bit flat, with Craig awarding it a meagre FOUR points.

That contributed to Aston and Janette ending up in a dance-off against Saturdays singer Mollie King and partner AJ Pritchard.

And after Bruno and Darcey chose to save Aston, and Craig opted for Mollie, it was left to Shirley to cast the deciding vote – and she canned 29-year-old Aston and his partner.

Read more: Strictly’s Shirley Ballas issues apology after offending large number of viewers

And James Jordan didn’t like the decision one bit, taking to Twitter to vent his disapproval.

He scathed: “DISGUSTING!! CRAIG has officially ruined Strictly 2017 by giving Aston a 4 in his dance. Dance-off result correct but he shouldn’t be in it.”

He continued: “WHATEVER they say about the public not voting for him, it was the JUDGES that put him there. CRAIG CANNOT JUSTIFY HIS 4. FACT!”

He then invited his followers to the Facebook live appearance, reiterating that it was a “DISGUSTING RESULT”.

And the dancer, who left Strictly in 2013, was still seething when he appeared on Facebook Live alongside his wife.

Seeming to suggest a conspiracy, he claimed: “If Aston had got to the final, they wouldn’t have had a woman win the show. They want a woman to win the show this year.

“I actually could cry for Janette and Aston. For me, it’s ruined the series.”

James was also clearly unimpressed with Craig dropping to his knees in awe following Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice’s tango on Saturday.

He said: “I think he was told to do it… Craig was an embarrassment to himself.”

Read more: Strictly celebrity invites their rumoured ex to watch them rehearse  

As for Aston, maybe it’s just as well that he’s out of the show – his girlfriend Sarah Richards is expecting a baby in January, and earlier this week he expressed concerns that he might have to quit midway through the series if the tot came early.

He told the Mirror: “If I got to the final, it would be amazing; it would be great. But what if suddenly her waters broke?

“If that happens then I’m not going to finish the dance. I’ll be straight out, grab the bag, let’s go. I’m prepared.”


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor