Dan Walker has slammed critics who have called his place in Strictly Come Dancing into question after he sailed through to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
The BBC Breakfast presenter has been the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks - with some claiming that he and partner Nadiya Bychkova do not deserve to still be in the competition over other couples who have been eliminated.
The pair have frequently placed near the bottom of the leaderboard throughout the competition, but have yet to be at risk of elimination in the bottom two.
READ MORE - Everything Nicola Sturgeon said today as FM issues urgent Covid update
Following chef Tilly Ramsay and partner Nikita Kuzmin's exit from the series on Sunday, some fans took to Twitter to voice their frustration.
As reported by The Mirror, Dan broke his silence after seeing some of the negative tweets about him.
He said: "Thank you to everyone who is sending lovely messages & enjoying us having fun on #Strictly.
"And to the few who say… ‘Just leave’, ‘Aren’t you ashamed?’, ‘You’re a disgrace’, ‘It’s a fix’ (which I don’t get) or ‘Who is voting for them?’"
“IT’S A TV SHOW! See you in the 1/4 finals.”
Many of Dan's supporters responded to his post with praise for his positive attitude.
One commented: "He is so popular because he's progressed so well, it's a good partnership, choreography has been good, he’s a great performer, he is likeable/watchable and not coasting.
“All those things make him popular so stop trying to bring him down. It's not cut and dry [that the] most technical dancer should win."
“Don’t let the glass-half-empty crowd get to you Dan," another wrote.
However, others continued to share their upset that Dan remained in the competition after Tilly Ramsay was sent home.
"Not feeling a little bit ashamed when better dancers go out instead of you?" one asked.
A second vented: “It's a TV show and a dance competition. Criticism of your wooden dancing is also allowed!"
“You may be popular, but it's supposed to be a dancing contest, not a popularity vote. Turns @bbcstrictly into a joke!” fired another.
