Shayne Ward strikes back at Strictly Come Dancing 'curse' after dance-off
Strictly Come Dancing star Shayne Ward has addressed rumours of a 'curse' on the BBC show after he and Nancy Xu found themselves in the dance-off for the first time.
The singer and professional dancer Nancy faced TV presenter Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk in the dance-off, but judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke decided to save Shayne and Nancy.
The following week, JB Gill and Amy Dowden found themselves in the bottom two, with the duo dancing against Paul Merson and Karen Hauer.
Viewers noticed that both Shayne and JB had danced first during the episodes, leading some to wonder if there is a 'curse' which leaves the pair who danced first to end up in the bottom two.
During an appearance on Morning Live with Nancy, Shayne admitted he found it to be a "blessing" to dance first on the BBC show.
"No, you know what, it's a blessing going first. There's so many of us as well, with so many dances happening. So who knows who the public are going to vote for," he told host Sara Davies.
Shayne went on to admit he was "gutted" to find himself in the bottom two and it made him look back at his time on The X Factor, which first catapulted him to fame.
"It wasn't nice being in the bottom two, I was gutted, you could see it on my face. I couldn't really hide it," he said. "It brought back X Factor days! Hoping not to get eliminated.
"And I just didn't want it to stop there for me and Nancy. When the judges saved us, I was so grateful." He went on to say he and Nancy will dance like it's their "final dance" going forward with the goal of not winding up in the bottom two again.
Shayne has opened up about his mum's health while on Strictly, after she couldn't make one of his live performances.
During the show, he told host Claudia Winkleman: "My mum is my absolute world and she's not been, unfortunately, able to come down to the live shows because she's not been in the best of health for many years. I know she's at home watching and that song I dedicate to you because I know you always try to get there."
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