BBC Strictly Come Dancing in 'fix' row over Tasha Ghouri's place on show

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left divided over Tasha Ghouri's place on the show, as they claimed that the star has an 'unfair advantage' due to her previous dance experience.

Strictly Come Dancing has found itself at the centre of a 'fix' debate after fans on social media questioned one contestant's edge in the competition. Former Love Island favourite Tasha Ghouri and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec wowed the judges with their cha cha, dancing to Sabrina Carpenter's 'Espresso', securing an impressive 30 points that put them up with the leaders on Saturday night.

However, some viewers took issue with Tasha's background in dance, as she worked as a model and dancer before finding fame on TV, even taking up ballet at age three and later training in street dance. Discontented tweets emerged with comments such as: "I love tasha but she isn't meant to be on the show because she is already a PROFESSIONAL DANCER. #Strictly," while others echoed the sentiment during the live broadcast, raising concerns over fairness.

One viewer remarked: "Love Tasha Ghouri but bit unfair her being in strictly when she's a dancer? #Strictly," and another weighed in on the scoring: "Tasha was great and has the potential to be even better but come on, an 8? Bit high. #strictly."

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"Do the #Strictly judges not know Tasha used to be a pro dancer? " one Strictly viewer pondered. However, others were quick to defend Tasha.

"I wonder why all the Karens and Deborahs who had an issue with Layton being a professional dancer last year have no problem with Tasha #Strictly," one supporter posted on Twitter, adding: "some of yall should not pi** me off. people should leave tasha alone and let her enjoy her strictly journey pls. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing."

Tasha and her boyfriend Andrew La Page are brushing aside any concerns about the infamous Strictly Come Dancing curse. Ahead of her debut on the BBC series, the professional dancer expressed confidence that her relationship won't be affected by the show's notorious reputation for causing breakups.

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She's completely smitten with her beau, whom she met on Love Island, describing him as "the hottest man on this whole planet" in a heartfelt interview with The Sun newspaper. Tasha gushed: "Andrew, to me, is the hottest man on this whole planet. I look at him and I'm like: 'Yeah, that's my man! ' Me and Andrew trust each other 100 per cent."

Dismissing any worries about the so-called curse, she said: "It's not a make-or-break for us. We're going to breeze through this because we're going to marry each other one day, you know? " Tasha added that they didn't even need to discuss it: "It doesn't bother us at all. We didn't have a discussion about 'the Strictly curse' because we trust each other."

She also shared how her partner Andrew and dance pro Aljaz Skorjanec have hit it off: "He has no worries at all. If anything, he was super-happy and could see the great partnership we had. He came to rehearsals the other day and watched for a little bit."

Tasha recounted a humorous incident: "Aljaz taught Andrew some dance moves, which was funny."

She spoke warmly of their camaraderie: "Aljaz is so happy with his wife [Janette Manrara] and we went on a double date last night, and had a lovely dinner with their beautiful daughter, Lyra. Andrew's been so supportive through it all."

Tasha, who became deaf at birth and received a cochlear implant when she was five, hopes to set an example for others in similar situations. She expressed: "I'm doing 'Strictly' because it's been my biggest dream. It's genuinely been a goal for years, even more than Love Island. I watch it and I think, 'I want to be on that dance floor one day.' And I'm doing it for representation. I want to inspire younger Tashas out there who struggle with confidence and self-love."

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