Shayne Ward has issued a defiant statement after facing backlash from some BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans for his attitude on-screen so far this series.
Ward has made no secret of his competitive nature when it comes to the dance contest, with host Claudia Winkleman even putting him on the spot about it during the launch show earlier this month.
Ward has been partnered with Chinese dancer Nancy Xu for the 2024 series who’ll be hoping to outdo her Week One exit with Les Dennis last year.
However, the duo underwhelmed with their first routine of the series on Saturday evening, only scoring 21 for their Samba.
Long-serving judge Craig Revel Horwood was so disappointed with the routine he only awarded the X Factor winner a score of four.
This left Ward 10th on the leaderboard, only above Punam Krishan, Nick Knowles, Pete Wicks, Paul Merson, and Toyah Willcox.
Ward was notably disappointed with the verdict from the Strictly judges following his debut on the show on Saturday, prompting social media to be flooded with complaints about his demeanour.
“Shayne Ward is a bit too full of himself #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing,” one fan claimed while a second hit out: “Shayne’s not learned that no-one takes to the hyper-confident competitive ones, has he? #Strictly.”
Elsewhere, a third critiqued: Shayne’s a bit too over-confident! Good attempt though!”
On Monday night, Ward took to Instagram to address the comments about his personality, sharing a downbeat black-and-white selfie.
He wrote in the accompanying caption: “Strictly is amazing and I love being part of it.
“But through my smile on TV I’m as nervous as the next person. Not cocky or overconfident… I’m nervous!
“I just gotta work hard and listen to my wonderful teacher @nancy_xuxi. All I can do is my best!” (sic)
Ward will be hoping to win over viewers and the judges when Week Two rolls around on Saturday evening.
He and Xu will be performing a Tango to the song The Door by Teddy Swims.
While Ward may have underwhelmed the judges and viewing public, the same can’t be said for Chris McCausland who has skyrocketed to favourite to win the whole show with some bookmakers.
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The blind comedian, who had BBC viewers in stitches on Saturday night with his retort to Revel Horwood’s criticism, earned a score of 24 for his Cha Cha alongside Dianne Buswell.
According to experts at gambling.com, he’s now emerged as a frontrunner to lift the Glitterball, with spokesperson James Leyfield telling GB News: “The biggest market mover after the first episode is Chris McCausland, whose price has plummeted.
“Comedian Chris, who is the show’s first-ever blind contestant, opened up as a 14/1 outsider to win this year’s series, but he and his professional partner Dianne Buswell wowed on Saturday night, scoring 23 points out of 40 for their Cha Cha to Twist and Shout by The Beatles.
“Punters have clearly taken Chris to their hearts, and he is now 7/2 joint-favourite to win the Glitterball Trophy.
“Former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri (7/2) has joined Chris at the top of the market, after scoring an impressive 30 points in the opening week.”
