Tasha Ghouri faced a ‘fix’ row on Saturday after BBC fans slammed her for being a ‘professional dancer’ as she received a standing ovation on week one of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Love Island star, 26, nearly topped the leaderboard with her Cha Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter with partner Aljaz Skorjanec, who returned to the show.
Head Judge Shirley Ballas said the reality star has ‘the most spectacular leg actions she has ever seen on this show’ and was awarded a massive 30 points from the panel.
However fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to complain Tasha, who was born deaf, was previously a ‘professional dancer’ before appearing on Love Island.
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Tasha Ghouri faced a ‘fix’ row on Saturday after BBC fans slammed her for being a ‘professional dancer’ as she received a standing ovation on week one of Strictly Come Dancing
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The Love Island star nearly topped the leaderboard with her Cha Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter with partner Aljaz Skorjanec and received glowing reviews from the judges
‘Tasha gonna be good she’s a dancer; Do the #Strictly judges not know Tasha used to be a pro dancer?; Tasha will be good as she is already a professional dancer!!
‘Tasha is SO LIKEABLE, I don’t even mind that she is a dancer already (not ballroom etc but it’s an advantage); Wasn’t Tasha a dancer??? I appreciate how impressive she is but I’m almost sure she was a dancer.’
Motsi Mabuse agreed with Shirley and said Tasha had ‘started up here, so high, you can’t drop lower now’.
While Anton Du Beke said: ‘You are terrific and I was watching Aljaz who was like “this is great” I am looking forward to watching you’.
Meanwhile strict judge Craig only had three words for Tasha as he said, ‘Slay, slay, slay.’
Following the performance, Aljaz admitted, ‘the potential is amazing and I think I’m struggling more than you are right now.’
Fans were delighted as Aljaz returned to the BBC show after he left the show in 2022 of his own accord.
They wrote: ‘So lovely to have Aljaz back where he belongs; Aljaz is back!!; Aljaz we have missed you so much’.
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Head Judge Shirley Ballas gushed that the reality star has ‘the most spectacular leg actions she has ever seen on this show’ and was awarded a massive 30 points from the panel
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However fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to complain that Tasha, who was born deaf, was previously a ‘professional dancer’ before appearing on Love Island
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Craig (pictured) only had three words for Tasha as he said, ‘Slay, slay, slay’
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Following the performance, Aljaz admitted, ‘the potential is amazing and I think I’m struggling more than you are right now’
The decision to bring back the star to the BBC show has reportedly raised eyebrows, especially given a string of scandals that have beset the show in recent weeks.
Two years after his exit, it was reported in recent weeks that Aljaz departed the show after an alleged ‘shocking’ incident with a fellow female professional dancer on the nationwide tour.
A source told The Sun: ‘Has the BBC learned nothing from the past ten months?
‘Amid ongoing furore around the behaviour of its male pros, they actively recruited a dancer who left under a cloud.
‘Aljaž was touted as an unproblematic, returning legend but that couldn’t be further from the truth.’
The source claimed the crew and cast were ‘relieved’ to see his departure two years ago and are now ‘aghast’ to see him back on the show
They revealed he allegedly got ‘very drunk’ on a night out on tour two years ago which led him being involved in a ‘very serious, pretty shocking altercation’ with a female.
The incident was said to have made the female dancer feel ‘deeply uncomfortable’.
Aljaž’s scene has been reportedly discussed backstage at length since and the decision to bring him back has ‘baffled’ the crew.
‘Execs would have to be living in a cave not to have heard the rumours’, the source added.
According to the publication, the BBC denied an official complaint was made over the incident, and it had been previously stated that Aljaz left of his own accord.
The BBC declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline, and told The Sun that they did not recognise the claims against Aljaz.
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Fans were delighted as Aljaz returned to the BBC show after he left the show in 2022 of his own accord
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The Slovenian dancer returned to the BBC show for its 20th series, two years after an altercation on the 2022 live tour (pictured with celebrity partner Sara Davies in 2021)
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Aljaz is married to fellow Strictly pro and It Takes Two host Janette Manrara, and sources claim that after his 2022 altercation, the crew are ‘aghast’ bosses have invited him back
A spokesperson for Aljaž said: ‘Aljaž has the utmost respect for everyone he works with.
‘He chose to leave the show in 2022 of his own accord but he has always loved Strictly and was delighted to be asked back.
‘It is untrue to say or suggest he was forced out or that he acted in an aggressive manner at any time. He is excited to make his return to the dancefloor this year.’
This weekend, all fifteen celebrities and their pro partners took to the dancefloor for the first live show following last weekend’s dazzling launch, where the pairings were first revealed.
As ever, hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were on hand to welcome, congratulate and console the latest batch of nervous dancers as they stepped onto the floor to not only impress the judges, but the viewers at home.
Viewers were in for a treat as the first live show kicked off, with a variety of dances including Cha Chas, Viennese Waltz’s, Sambas and even a Paso Doble lined up for their viewing pleasure.
It’s a big year for Strictly as it celebrates it’s 20th year, while pro dancer Amy Dowden made her much-awaited return to the show following her heartbreaking cancer battle.
However, the positive news has been tainted by a year of controversy as the BBC show was embroiled in a number of scandals.
It all began last October when actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly quit the show before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her.
The Sherlock actress has made a series of accusations about Giovanni’s teaching methods and has described his behaviour as ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’. He strongly denies all of the claims.
Giovanni, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners.
He has vehemently denied the claims.
With the report into his misconduct due any day now, Amanda has reportedly been left deeply disappointed with the BBC bosses over fears they’re ‘protecting’ the dancer amid the bullying probe.
There have been high-level meetings among BBC bosses as they navigate how to deliver their findings as they fear the looming possibility of legal action from either Amanda or Giovanni if either is disappointed by the outcome.
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Strictly has been embroiled in scandal this year after footage of Zara McDermott’s professional partner Graziano Di Prima ‘abusing her’ was unearthed by BBC staff. He has since been sacked
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In recent months, the dancing competition has been hit by a wave of scandals , with Giovanni Pernice being probed after his partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour
After Giovanni, the show was hit with a fresh wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott.
Zara explained that she didn’t report the incidents at the time as she was ‘scared’ of backlash.
Instead it was junior production staff who came forward to share what they had witnessed as the investigation into pro dancer Giovanni was taking place.
Zara told her followers that while much of her time on Strictly ‘was everything I could have dreamt of’ inside the training room with Graziano there were ‘particular incidents which are incredibly distressing’.
Over the summer Strictly has struggled to stay out the headlines as more and more alumni of the show have come forward to share their stories.
Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional partner on Strictly Come Dancing Ola Jordan back in 2014 claiming she ‘bullied’ him.
Meanwhile Ola’s husband James was left furious when he hit back after unearthed footage emerged of him telling his partner Georgina Bouzova he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves.
The ballroom dancer and choreographer, 46, slammed the BBC after the clip began doing the rounds again following the recent Giovanni and Graziano scandals – saying most of the footage ‘was not related to Georgina at all’.
Professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova also met with BBC bosses to complain about the show in July.
Amid the tough year for the show, hosts Tess and Claudia failed to mention the scandals as they welcomed viewers to last week’s launch show.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
