Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland slams Lord Alan Sugar's 'gimmick' jibe

Lord Alan Sugar took aim at Strictly Come Dancing's choice of celebrities, with current competitor Chris McCausland hitting out at the apparent dig in his direction

Fans were left fuming at Lord Alan Sugar after a seemingly insensitive tweet during Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday.

The face of The Apprentice took to Twitter /X to complain about the latest batch of celebrities in the dance show's line-up this year. Followers took huge offence to his "gimmick" jibe and let their feelings known - including comedian Chris McCausland who many claim the comment is about.

Lord Sugar commented: "I don't know when Strictly come dancing are going to run out of contestant gimmicks. I would not be surprised if they had a AI mechanical robot next year. @bbcstrictly."

Comic Chris didn't appreciate the comment and fired back: "I am sorry my gimmick offends you oh mighty Lord." He ended with a sarcastic hashtag, #YoureTired.

Fans were clearly on Chris' side and responded to make sure he was well aware of the fact. One user replied: "Answered perfectly Chris. If your comments are aimed at individuals with disabilities you should be ashamed of yourself @Lord_Sugar," followed by an angry face emoji.

Another fumed: "He’s only jealous cause with 20/20 Vision he couldn’t pull of half of the moves you have or win the respect of the public for doing something so amazing. Don’t wast your typing energy Chris, just keep dancing you legend."

A third wrote: "There’s nothing gimmicky about you Chris. You are the real deal," while a fourth added: "Good for you Chris. I love seeing Strictly show that ANYONE can learn to dance and enjoy dancing, no matter your size, sexuality, disability, etc. Looking forward to you and Dianne's dance next week, loved your salsa this week."

Chris made it through another week on the BBC's flagship dance show. Through the week he shared himself covered in bruises from his intense training with professional dancer Dianne Buswell. On the dance contest's sister show, It Takes Two, Chris didn't hold back as he said the last week has been the hardest week of training since he joined the show. However, he admitted he had been determined to perfect his routine.

Speaking to show host Janette Manrara, Chris said: "It's been intense. There has been more lifts in it than Canary Wharf! There is tricks and lifts and we are both covered in bruises."

This weekend's show saw Nick Knowles exit after returning from injury. The DIY SOS star and his professional dance partner Luba Mushtuk left the competition following a dance off against Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu during the third Results Show of the series. Both couples performed their routines again after landing in the bottom two.

While Shayne and Nancy successfully progressed doing their Cha Cha to Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use) by Sub Sub feat. Melanie Williams, Nick and Luba performed their Charleston to Rain on the Roof from the film Paddington 2 for one last time.

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