Strictly Come Dancing veteran Orla Jordan has come to the defence of ahead of this week’s final. The ex-professional dancer feels that the Love Island star hasn’t received the same treatment as her fellow contestants, particularly when considering previous dance experience.
The past Glitterball winner has shown unwavering support for the reality TV star, asserting that Tasha “is the best dancer in the competition” but is puzzled as to why she hasn’t resonated with the public throughout the series.
Orla speculates that the negativity might be linked to Tasha’s prior dance experience and has taken a stand to remind viewers that both JLS member and actress also have a history in dance. She implored fans “not to pick on Tasha only”.
Despite being saved by the judges twice after failing to secure the popular vote at home, Tasha has not been as well-received as her counterparts. Coming to the defence of the ITV star, Orla expressed her frustration: “It’s not fair,” when discussing the treatment she’d received.
As a former professional dancer on the show and 2009 Glitterball champion, Orla knows all too well what it’s like to reach this stage in the competition, reports .
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Ola has defended Tasha (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
In a conversation with about Tasha’s challenging journey so far, Orla remarked: ” She is the best dancer but she’s not getting the public vote.”
The mother-of-one elaborated: “Her dance background might be going against her, but it depends on what people like at that time and what dance she’s going to do.”
Orla heaped praise on the Love Island sensation, remarking: “She did the perfect Waltz this week, and she’s still quite high on the leaderboard because she was second from the top. She’s dropped down so she’s obviously getting fewer votes than Chris and Sarah.”
The ex-Strictly contestant made an appeal to viewers, saying: “We’ve got to remember that Sarah and JB have had some kind of dance training as well, so it’s important to say that it’s not only Tasha who has some previous experience. Let’s not forget that and let’s not pick on Tasha only, it’s not fair.”
Tasha and Aljaz received a perfect score from the judges (Image: BBC)
Despite achieving top marks from the judges, Strictly favourite Tasha found herself in the dreaded dance-off once again, marking her second consecutive week at risk. Last week saw her narrowly escape elimination as , despite having strong public support, bidded farewell to the competition.
Tasha couldn’t hide her emotions during the results show, where she scored a perfect 40, leaving many to speculate about her future on the show.
users are also chiming in with their thoughts, echoing Orla’s sentiments and pondering whether Tasha’s prior dance experience might be impacting her connection with the crowd.
Tasha hasn’t struck a chord with viewers at home (Image: BBC)
One fan protested on an online forum: “Am I the only one that understands why Tasha keeps getting in the dance-off? I know not everyone watches Love Island, but she quite literally says in her intro clip ‘I’m a model and a dancer’… her profession is a DANCER, she’s a professional? “.
That same viewer continued their critique by saying: “I do like her, I think she’s lovely and she is amazing at dancing, but I don’t think it’s fair and I don’t think she deserves to win. I get JB has had dance experience before, but no one would label him a professional dancer. He’s been taught the odd routine for a music video or concert but he isn’t professionally trained in a certain genre of dance.”
Adding further to their point, they also stated: “And I know Tasha isn’t ballroom or Latin trained, but she is a professional dancer, she knows how it works and she knows how to dance well with a partner, there has been no progress since week one. It’s the journey and improvement that I think is deserving of a win.”
will return to One this weekend to air the final