Luba Mushtuk was "over" Strictly Come Dancing before it finished, with fans saying she put "no effort" into her dance off, before she and Nick Knowles were voted off.
Viewers were left gobsmacked when Nick, 62 and his pro partner Russian-British dancer Luba Mushtuk were booted off the show on Sunday. Following a string of injuries, Nick was put at a disadvantage in the competition, but fans were still shocked to see him leave.
As fans of the long-running show will know, the live show is recorded on Saturday night, and the results show is filmed straight after. But the results are only aired the following night, leaving the show open to leaks.
Despite their close bond, viewers believed Luba had already made peace with the fact that she and her partner would be leaving the show, taking to X and Reddit to discuss what they thought.
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One social media user wrote: "Luba's already accepting defeat," while another said her dance was below par, adding: "Luba made no effort in that dance off whatsoever. She’s over it." A third agreed, writing: "Literally, she was basically walking at the end!" Another reasoned: "She's probably got the worst actual dances to dance offs ratio on the show so you can hardly blame her."
Others were left feeling short-changed that Nick and Luba had been voted off. One wrote: "I can't believe Nick is gone after all of that." Another echoed: "Omg NOT Nick!!!! He was only just back and now he's gone."
"I love Shayne but I think Nick should have stayed," someone else wrote on X. Another Strictly fan added: "Sad to see Nick go but Shayne deserved to stay. Nick certainly didn't have an easy time on the show."
Another gushed: "You’re a star for forging on, others may of given up! It’s been great watching your behind the scenes clips. You and Luba made a great team."
Speaking to Tess afterwards Nick said: "I've really, really been surprised by how much I've loved doing it and by two things that happen." One is how much you care each week, and the other is how much you don’t want to let down your partner."
He added: "The only reason I could do this is simply because of Luba’s changes, she's been amazing."
Luba commented: "I’ve never met someone as determined as you, and I remember you saying that if you do your best, you’ll be very happy. I think you did more than your best. Thank you."
The 62-year-old has previously described training for the show as one of the "toughest" things he's ever had to do. Sharing a post on , alongside a selfie of himself and Luba in their latest performance, he said: "Well, that’s the end of the road for me on @bbcstrictly. But after the injury last week, getting back on the dance floor felt like a win in itself.
"Gutted I couldn’t stay longer to bring the amazing dances super talented @lubamushtuk had planned to life, but it’s been a fantastic journey. Wishing the best of luck to all the competitors - they’re such a lovely bunch. It’s been a lot of fun, and a reminder that it’s never too late to try something new."
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