Johannes Radebe openly “disagreed” with Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke following last week’s show.
Radebe, 37, appeared alongside celebrity partner Montell Douglas on spin-off show, It Takes Two, where the couple were asked about Du Beke’s criticisms.
Following their Salsa during Blackpool Week in the latest Strictly instalment, Du Beke had some small complaints.
“I was getting involved, we were like this, ‘come on, Montell.'” he joked.
“Your energy is your thing,” he told Douglas, adding: “This is your weapon, you just slaughtered the place with energy, it is amazing.
“You dance better with three fellows then you did Johannes on his own!”
He concluded: “Just bring what you do out of hold with Johannes because you start to concentrate on him too much, so bring the freedom and energy because it is extraordinary when you do it alone. Keep it up.”
During their It Takes Two chat, host Fleur East addressed the remarks made regarding the couple’s dance, which had received an impressive 35 points.
After revealing the duo would be performing a Quickstep this weekend to Ella Fitzgerald’s Get Happy, East probed: “Montell, you are back in ballroom after three weeks with a fast dance – plays to your strengths. Do you feel like home?”
“I wouldn’t say home… I wouldn’t say home,” the Olympian and Gladiator star joked.
“But I am going to use everything that I have learned,” she vowed.
The 38-year-old continued: “The judges’ comments have been fantastic, I always take them on board.
“Johannes as a partner pushes me and makes sure we perform at a certain level, so I’m working hard to put out a performance we can be proud of and enjoy it, because it’s a brand-new dance.
“I will bring all the elements we learned, even from week one in that Foxtrot hold until now, I will use those elements for the coming week.”
Noting Du Beke had shared some areas for improvement, East told Radebe: “Anton says he wants to see the energy Montell has out of hold brought into hold.
“Where does that rank on the to-do list for the week?”
“I disagree with that!” the South African dancer admitted sheepishly.
“With all due respect, I get where Anton might be coming from, but with a different dance of the Salsa,” he continued.
Showering his partner with praise, he added: “Montell, like I said to you, for the past couple of weeks she has come into her own.
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“And when I tell you, I see the improvement. She feels lighter in my arms. She doesn’t hold back in her movement.
“And that is what I’m hoping to embrace moving forward in this competition, and I wish that she is afforded a couple more weeks.”
Turning to the former sprinter, he beamed: “Because honey, you have turned into a beautiful dancer.”
While the two are usually placed in a promising place on the leaderboard, they’ve now found themselves in the dreaded dance-off twice.
In last week’s show they had to fight for their place in the competition, and the judges unanimously decided to save the couple over Wynne Evans and Katya Jones.
