STRICTLY star Nikita Kuzmin and his celeb partner Ellie Simmonds appeared to poke fun at the judges’ recent comments about their ‘illegal lift’You can watch the entire show.
The Ukrainian dancer and the Paralympic swimming champ wowed viewers at the weekend, as they danced to the theme tune from The Apprentice, to celebrate the BBC’s centenary.
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However, despite receiving 30 points for their performance they received criticism.
Shirley Ballas, Head Judge, decided to deduct 1 point from an applicant. ‘illegal lift’Craig Revel Horwood, their co-judge, agreed to the routine and criticised it.
Strictly fans didn’t appear to agree with judge comments, and Nikita then sparked concern as he failed to join the pro dancers and celebrities alongside Claudia Winkleman in between performances.
Tonight, appearing on BBC Two spin off It Takes Two, the pair finally addressed the lift and said they’d still have done it, despite what judges had to say.
Janette Manrara, the host, began the conversation by saying: “Now we’ve got to talk about it, as it has been quite the controversial subject – the lift.”
Nikita explained: “I love the fact that it was illegal,” as he mocked Craig’s voice.
He continued: “To be honest, I am always trying to create choreography around Ellie, and my goal for this week was to create a lot of drama.
“To be fair about the lift, my only goal is to get Ellie down safely and in a spectacular manner.”
Ellie then called back: “Safety first, safety first.”
Nikita continued: “If that’s the only thing that keeps us away from a 10, I can live with it.”
Ellie said that it was “amazing” to hear viewers were on their side, and said they’d “still have kept it in”Despite all the comments.
It comes after Ellie admitted she has definitely found the exhaustive training sessions a little much, so much so that Nikita filmed her two weeks ago having a hysterical laughing fit as she lay on the floor while trying to correct her posture.
Speak toRadioTimes.comEllie admits that she was trained. “tougher than expected”They said: “We’re training like 9am until 6pm… we’re pushing our bodies – I’m aching all over. You can see I’ve got a massive bruise there.”
She joked that some of her bruises were hers. “being a bit clumsy”Addition: “I think the body, and just the tiredness and the exhaustion… I’ve been giving everything to Strictly. I’m feeling muscles that I’ve never felt before.”
Every weekday, BBC2 broadcasts Strictly It Takes Two returns
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