Dev Griffin has become the third celebrity to be eliminated from this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, following a tense dance-off against Viscountess Emma Weymouth.
The radio host, 34, performed a Cha Cha to Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith and Normani on Saturday’s instalment of the BBC show, and on Sunday, after performing it once again, the judges voted unanimously to save chef Emma.
Even before the result was announced, fans of the show took to Twitter to brand the show a ‘fix’ as many claimed they ‘couldn’t vote’ for Dev and his dance partner Dianne Buswell, because their ‘phone line wouldn’t accept calls.’
Last dance: Dev Griffin and his partner Dianne Buswell became the third ballroom couple to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday evening
MailOnline has contacted Strictly Come Dancing for comment.
As he learned of his fate, the presenter admitted his devastation, telling show host Tess Daly: ‘I’m not going to lie I am absolutely gutted.’
Dev continued: ‘But, learning how to dance, hanging out with Dianne and the other pros and celebs… I’ve absolutely loved it.’
Praising her celebrity dance partner, Dianne said: ‘Dev has been absolutely amazing. His work ethic is insane. I see him everywhere practising and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.
‘Thank you so much for all your time and your effort. This boy has so much talent, I’m really sad he won’t be able to show you guys any more of it.’
The pair’s early exit was particularly notable, as just last weekend, Dev and Dianne came second on the leaderboard thanks to an incredible performance to Friend Like Me from 2019’s Aladdin remake.
Gutted: As he learned of his fate, the presenter admitted his devastation, telling show host Tess Daly: ‘I’m not going to lie I am absolutely gutted’
Saved: The judges voted unanimously to save chef Emma Weymouth after the dance-off
This weekend, the stars competing on Strictly were tasked with giving their most impressive performances as they rook to the dancefloor to perform ballroom and Latin routines.
However, Dev and Dianne found themselves facing off on the dancefloor during Sunday’s episode, after failing to overly impress the judges and the viewers at home.
The judges’ scores were combined with the results of the viewers’ votes to decide the lowest scoring two couples facing the dance off.
This week that was Dev Griffin and his professional partner Dianne Buswell and Viscountess Emma Weymouth and partner Aljaž Škorjanec.
High praise: Praising her celebrity dance partner, Dianne said: ‘Dev has been absolutely amazing. His work ethic is insane.’
Awe-inspiring: The pair’s early exit was particularly notable, as just last weekend, they came second on the leaderboard with a performance to Friend Like Me from 2019’s Aladdin remake
Ahead of the dance-off, Craig Revel Horwood told Dev: ‘I am truly shocked. I did not expect to see you in this position. You’ve got the dancing down, you don’t need to worry about that,’ before encouraging him to give more in their performance.
Shirley Ballas added: ‘I’m surprised you’re in the bottom two,’ before giving Dev words of advice ahead of his dance-off.
Both couples performed their routines again, Emma and Aljaž performed their Jive to Kids in America by Kim Wilde and Dev and Dianne performed their Cha Cha to Dancing With A Stranger to Sam Smith and Normani in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition.
Dance-off: Both couples performed their routines again, with Emma and Aljaž performing their Jive to Kids in America by Kim Wilde
After both couples had danced a second time, watched closely by watched closely by Shirley Ballas, Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse, the judges delivered their verdicts.
Craig chose to save Emma and Aljaž, adding: ‘They were the couple that really shone for me in this dance off. They came to life and went the extra mile.’
Motsi also chose to save Emma and Aljaž, explaining: ‘Particularly in the dance off, Emma and Aljaž were the couple that looked more rehearsed and on top of it.’
Following suit, and putting the final nail in the coffin for Dev, Bruno chose to save Emma and Aljaž, adding: ‘Emma and Aljaž were the couple that showed no mistakes. They were stronger, cleaner and focused.’
Head Judge Shirley Ballas admitted: ‘I agree, I would have saved Emma and Aljaž.’
Sunday’s Results show opened with an electric group performance. Grammy Award-winning country singer Keith Urban was also in the studio, performing his hit Never Comin’ Down.
The remaining twelve couples will take to the dancefloor next week when Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday 19th October at 6.40pm with the results show on Sunday 20th October at 7.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.