Strictly Come Dancing fans are convinced that one couple might have been given a special advantage for this Saturday night’s show.
The line-up of the 2024 competition has been gradually dwindling as we near the highly-anticipated final, with there now being just six pairs left in the running for the Glitterball Trophy.
This coming Saturday will mark the return of Musicals Week, as the celebrities and their professional dance partners perform routines inspired by plays including Six, West Side Story and The Color Purple.
Actress Sarah Hadland and her partner Vito Coppola have been given a routine inspired by one of the biggest movie releases of the year – Wicked, which stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in the film adaptation of the beloved stage musical.
Considering the blockbuster is sweeping praise among critics and scores of fans are rushing to see it in the cinema, some Strictly fans believe that Sarah, 53, and Vito, 32, might have an advantage when it comes to votes from viewers watching at home as they perform their Charleston to Popular.
Commenting on Reddit, a user called boatsboatsboats wrote: ‘Seems particularly unfair that one person gets a dance everyone loves to a song that is extremely in the public eye at the moment, while someone else gets a dance the public can never be bothered with to a musical that is pretty unknown 😠.’
Rumhampolicy added: ‘Personally, I don’t think anyone should be dancing to Wicked this year. ‘It’s a bit of an unfair advantage, considering it’s the most popular film atm and it’s being promoted everywhere.’
Meanwhile, other fans admitted that they fear for Gladiators star Montell Douglas and her partner Johannes Radebe, after they were given the notoriously tricky Rumba to the song I’m Here from The Color Purple.
For the past two weeks, Montell, 38, and Johannes, 37, have been in the bottom two, surviving potential elimination against Wynne Evans and Katya Jones, and then Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas.
They were also in the bottom two in week seven, but were saved over Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin, meaning that they’ve been in the dance-off more times than any of the other couples in the competition.
Reacting to their upcoming Rumba routine, one Reddit user called Accomplished-Bid-373 admitted: ‘I fear Montell has received the kiss of death.’
‘Worried for Montell with a rumba this late in the series and her being in the bottom 2 so many times,’ RainbowRevolver said.
‘Montell supporters need to unite around her now,’ im_just_called_lucy added.
Reddit user VaguelyObservant said that their ‘heart dropped’ when they saw that Montell would be dancing the Rumba, adding that their dream of wanting to see her dance the Charleston ‘is slipping away’.
Heartsforariana stated that Montell fans need to rally to vote for her ‘like crazy’, while Britishloozerr called her assigned dance a ‘death sentence’ on the show.
‘Oh my god why not a Charleston for Mojo!!! Or a Jive!! These people want me dead 😭,’ akallabeths remarked.
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Aside from Montell, Johannes, Sarah adn Vito, the other routines on Saturday night will include Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec doing the Argentine Tango to Ex-Wives from Six.
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Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will be performing the Quickstep to You’re The Top from Anything Goes, while JB Gill and Lauren Oakley will dance to Let’s Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins.
Then lastly, Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał will be taking to the dancefloor for a Waltz to Somewhere from West Side Story.
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Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday at 7.05pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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