Jeff Stelling blasts former colleague Paul Merson's 'unfair' Strictly Come Dancing exit

Jeff Stelling was left less than impressed that pal received his marching orders at the weekend.

The former footballer became the latest to exit the popular contest after five weeks. However, his ex Sky Sports colleague wasn't happy and branded the decision "unfair".

Jeff, 69, took to social media to vent his frustration. On /X, he revealed he was proud of his pal before hinting at an advantage other stars had over the sportsman. Jeff wrote under Paul's initial message of thanks: "Proud of you Merse. Shame they ruin the show by including people who are trained dancers or have musical theatre backgrounds. Should be people who don’t have any dance training imo."

He went on to add: "But you were brilliant," with his comments echoed by his followers. One user responded: "Completely agree @JeffStelling should be zero to hero during the course of the series," while another added: "Agree Jeff...Merse is exactly what the show should be about. And didn't he enjoy himself too! Brilliant."

The comments come after JB Gill and Amy Dowden danced again alongside Paul and his professional partner Karen Hauer in the dance-off after they landed in the bottom two. All of the judges opted for the former JLS man to progress to the next week in the contest. The decision means the much-loved duo will be back and performing in the show’s legendary Halloween week next time out.

Speaking following his exit, Paul had nothing but praise for his dance partner. He gushed: "It's been amazing, honestly, amazing. I loved every minute of it, I've had a great teacher. She’s been amazing, absolutely amazing and I couldn't wish for a better coach. I’ve loved every minute of it. I can dance now - I've won because I can dance, I couldn't dance before and I can half dance now. It's a bonus, absolute bonus."

Following Sunday's decision, fans claimed to have unearthed another Strictly curse. They argued they had figured out a link between the dance-off and the timing of the couples’ performances. Taking to social media a group of users claimed JB and Amy's positioning was due to being the first couple to dance on Saturday night’s show.

Eagle-eyed viewers said this was also the case for Shayne Ward when he ended up in the dance-off alongside Nick Knowles after performing first on the show earlier this month.

“Crazy how JB danced first last night and in the dance off, and Shayne ward danced first last week and too himself there. Going first is a curse lol,” one wrote. Another online user added: “Ooh that's a bit of a shock, but I think sometimes opening the show can put you in a risky position. Easy to forget the first couple especially if they fall in the middle of the leaderboard."

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