Toyah Willcox breaks silence on intense Strictly Come Dancing backlash

Toyah Willcox, 66, was saved from the Strictly Come Dancing chop as Tom Dean was sent home on Sunday night's show and the decision didn't go down well with a lot of viewers

Toyah Willcox has spoken out after unhappy Strictly Come Dancing fans raged about Tom Dean's elimination.

Last Sunday, Olympic swimmer Tom, alongside his professional dance partner Nadiya Bychkova, was the first celebrity to be eliminated from the competition after a dance-off with Toyah and her pro partner Neil Jones. Following the public vote, the swimmer, 24, faced singer and actress Toyah, 66, in the dance-off.

The judges quickly delivered their verdicts, with Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse both choosing to save Toyah. Anton Du Beke opted to save Tom and Nadiya and head judge Shirley Ballas had the deciding vote, sending the athlete on his way.

While fans vented on social media that the elimination was a 'fix' and stars said the decision was 'beyond comprehension', Neil was move to share his support for his dance partner as the critics circled - and now Toyah has broken her silence to address the situation.

Taking to Instagram, Toyah appeared upbeat but admitted she was "overwhelmed" and insisted that it was up to her to "get it right". Appearing in a bright red wrap top and black leggings, she said with much enthusiasm: "It's Wednesday and I love Wednesdays because this is when Neil and I start to dance the complete dance over and over and over again. But this week, because we're doing characterisations because we are characters from the movie The Little Mermaid, it's another layer.

So I need to know certain lines and I need to know how to respond to them and act it while doing the Samba - one of the hardest dances I'm going to learn! So I'm really excited, I'm slightly overwhelmed but I see absolutely everything about Strictly is that I am being offered opportunity after opportunity and now it's up to me to make the most of this and get it right!"

Neil was quick to jump in and back his dance partner. Along with screengrabs from their performance, he said: "Ladies and Gentlemen when you ask me how my Saturday night went. I just want to say it’s week 2 @toyahofficial is not a dancer but every day she’s improving.

"Each day I tell Toyah, it might not be perfect but you are improving and at the same time you are not losing who you really are and that is what @bbcstrictly is all about. You bring so much joy in our lives and I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to teach and guide you so we can both entertain."

Not all fans were deflated by the decision. Some rushed to the comments section to post their support, with one user writing: "So happy that it wasn't you going home. We've waited too long for you to have another partner. When Anton didn't save you I was gutted but Shirley did the right thing," and another adding: "Well done Toyah! Such an improvement over last week. Hats off to Neil for his choreography."

Taking to Twitter to air their frustrations following Tom's elimination, one person said: "Absolute fix. They obviously have some deal to give Neil more air time this year. Poor Tom. Not on at all." Another added: "Tom has been robbed!! Toyah was by far the worse dancer!!! Absolute Fix." Someone else wrote: "Jeez. First week and already a disgraceful decision. Wasn't your fault Tom."

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