Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas has called on viewers to support finalists Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec, urging them to “pick up the phone and vote”.
The 64-year-old dance expert made her impassioned plea while appearing on The One Show on Friday night (December 13), ahead of this year’s climactic Strictly final set to air tomorrow evening (December 12).
Shirley, renowned for her judging role on the show, didn’t hold back in praising the four remaining pairs on Strictly, sharing her heartfelt appreciation for them.
In a cosy chat with presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, Shirley discussed what makes Tasha and Aljaz a commendable duo. But Roman prompted Shirley to reflect on the fact that Tasha had found herself fighting for survival twice.
He quizzed: “The highest-scoring couple, but they’ve been in the dance-off twice. So what are you wanting from them in the final?”, reports the Express.
To which Shirley frankly responded: “Well, being in the dance-off twice but strong from the very very beginning, and all I can say is if the people at home are really enjoying their dancing, then they must pick up the phone and vote.”
Emphasising Tasha’s resilience, Shirley continued: “She has landed in the bottom two twice, but it’s given a resilience, it’s given a strength of mind and I think she’ll be going into tomorrow’s final and she’ll be taking no prisoners because I know each and every one of them are not leaving without that trophy, so it’s going to be extremely difficult.”
Shirley made an impassioned plea, saying: “But the people at home, please do your job because your job is just a vote.”
Tasha, a former Love Island contestant, recently shared her perspective on the dance-off, choosing to view it as a positive experience.
As the final approaches on Saturday, she reflected: “I always say I never look at the dance-off as a negative experience. If anything is added to my experience, I’ve had that journey now, the ups and downs.”
Tasha revealed her conversation with Aljaz, saying: “I said to Aljaz I’d be happy to do the Waltz with you again, or the Argentine Tango it’s another opportunity to dance with you again. So I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s just go for it! ‘”.
She also recalled her semi-final performance, particularly the Salsa: “And I remember in the semi-final last week, the Salsa especially, we opened the show, and I had so much fire and butterflies in my belly because I was like, ‘I’m not ready to go at the last hurdle,’ I really wanted to get over it.”