Fans of Strictly Come Dancing were astonished to see crowd favourites teetering on the brink of elimination just ahead of the semi finals.
In an unexpected twist after Saturday's musicals-themed show, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec found themselves grappling with the prospect of leaving the competition, alongside Olympian Montell Douglas and partner Johannes Radebe, during Sunday's dance-off.
Meanwhile, Pete Wicks and Jowita Przysta faced criticism when they made it straight through to the semi final after a less-than-perfect performance, sparking outrage among fans who believed Tasha was unfairly put at risk.
Disgruntled comments poured onto X, previously known as Twitter, within moments of Sunday's reveal as fans could hardly contain their dismay.
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One viewer expressed: "This is a complete joke now Pete is still in and Tasha and another fab dancer are going to be in the dance off I'm thinking of switching off now - what are the public thinking!!" reports the Mirror.
Another commented: "Joke. How is Pete through and Tasha is in the dance off. Public sort it out!!"
One dismayed fan posted: "I'm sorry but #Strictly is an absolute joke how on earth Pete keeps getting through is absolutely beyond me yet Tasha is in the dance off."
An additional comment summed up the bewilderment: "I love Pete but how is Tasha in the dance off? ? Scrap the public votes."
A fifth fan expressed frustration: "WHO is voting for Pete man! ? He's a nice guy but this is a dancing show! ! ! He's had the lowest score for multiple weeks now! Why are deserving dancers leaving over him."
However, others have leapt to the former TOWIE star's defence, suggesting that his enduring popularity stems from viewers genuinely enjoying his presence on the show.
They countered: "Listen I agree, there are better dancers than Pete in there, but its not the his fault he's still there, the public clearly like him, they can see he is trying and improving week by week, and that's kind of what it's about."
Tasha and Aljaz emerged victorious from the dance-off, securing a spot in next week's semi-final, while Olympian Montell Douglas was eliminated from the competition.
The remaining couples set to return to the ballroom for next weekend's semi-finals are: Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, and Pete and Jowita.
Strictly Come Dancing's semi-final will air next Saturday at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
