BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans demand rule change after 'unfair' elimination

Strictly Come Dancing saw the departure of Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu on Sunday night's gripping results show. At age 40, Shayne and his dance partner Nancy, aged 33, found themselves in a nail-biting dance-off against Wynne Evans and Katya Jones.

Emotions ran high as both couples took to the floor once more; Shayne and Nancy with their Rumba to Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time, and Wynne and Katya delivering an American Smooth to MIKA's Grace Kelly. The judges' panel was split after the performances, setting the stage for head judge Shirley Ballas to have the final say.

Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse cast their votes to save Shayne and Nancy, but Anton Du Beke leaned toward Wynne and Katya. With the decision at deadlock, Shirley, who is 64 years old, made the crucial vote to keep Wynne and Katya in the competition.

This outcome meant it was the end of the road for Shayne and Nancy, as noted by Mirror.

Reflecting on his time in the competition, Shayne expressed his gratitude during an interview with host Tess Daly, saying: "I just want to say, you guys up there [the other contestants in the Clauditorium] are a dream. Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys you helped me so much. I want to say thank you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I've ever done.", reports the Daily Record.

"I'm proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Nancy], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go. I'm sorry it didn't work out to the end, but I'm super proud that I got to meet you [to Nancy] and dance with you, so thank you."

In response, Nancy expressed her admiration, saying: "I'm beyond proud of this dance partnership. Shayne from week one until this point, every second you put your feet on the dance floor you improved yourself. You're a deep thinker, you always doubt yourself, you never believed yourself, but I never ever questioned you. When I watch you, I feel proud because I've turned someone who has never ever danced in their life into an amazing dancer. You should believe in yourself. I adored this partnership."

Fans were swift to voice their discontent on Twitter regarding the dance-off results. One viewer commented, "Shirley getting casting vote is a joke ..if it's 2-2 should come down to audience vote" while another frustrated fan posted, "The judges votes is totally unfair? if two judges save one...then the other two save another, that's 2 each? how can it be that it just goes on Shirley's vote? ? Absolutely unfair! what's the point of judges votes? may as well just let Shirley decide? ".