Vick Hope says she "respects" the Strictly judges' decision after hinting show was fixed to save Seann Walsh
The eliminated Strictly Come Dancing contestant appeared on It Takes Two with pro partner Graziano Di Prima
Having previously hinted that her Strictly Come Dancing exit was fixed, Vick Hope has said she "respects" the judges – and accepts that "they didn't think we were the best couple."
Vick and her pro partner Graziano Di Prima lost out to Seann Walsh and Katya Jones in the dance off after their Cha Cha split opinions on the judging panel. It was up to head judge Shirley Ballas to cast the deciding vote and send them home.
The day after her elimination, Vick told Capital FM listeners: "It was very strange because after the dance-off the judges have to give their decisions but there was a bit of a confab with some producers and then they gave their decisions. It was just stunned silence in the studio, it was a really weird atmosphere.”
A BBC spokesperson said the idea that producers had told the judges how to vote was "categorically untrue."
And appearing on It Takes Two on Monday night, Vick said she had been "gutted" by the result – but respects the judges' decision.
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"You know what, I respect them so much because they are the best in their field, that goes without saying," she told Zoe Ball.
"So whatever they say it goes and that’s how it works, and I understand that, I understand this is how the show works and I will do everything I can with this brilliant platform... This was a brilliant opportunity. They didn’t think we were the best couple and that’s cool."
Vick and Graziano's performance only earned 20 points on Saturday night, putting them at the bottom of the leaderboard and in danger of elimination – especially as the judges didn't love the routine itself.
A BBC spokesperson previously told RadioTimes.com: "It is categorically untrue to imply that producers tell the judges how to score or who to save. Each judge votes on each dance independently, based on its merits and in their expert opinion alone.
“The judges use an electronic voting pad to transmit their score or choice of who to save to the production gallery which is then locked in and cannot be changed.
“Only after this does a producer speak to the judges, advising them on how long they have to speak and reminding them to give a reason for their decisions. The process was exactly the same this weekend.”
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- Vick Hope says Strictly judges spoke to producers before giving their verdicts on the dance-off
- BBC "categorically" denies producers told Strictly judges how to vote on Vick Hope and Seann Walsh dance-off
- Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC1
