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Simon Duke

Strictly's Fleur East centre of 'fix' claims as dance off 'edited' after fall

Fleur East has found herself at the centre of 'fix' claims on Strictly Come Dancing, after it has emerged that last weekend's dance off was halted after she fell, before she was given the opportunity to perform again and the stumble was 'edited' out.

Former X Factor star Fleur looked gutted when she and pro partner Vito Coppola landed in the bottom two for the second time in just a few weeks as Halloween Week came to an end. The couple had performed a fortune teller inspired salsa to Beyonce's Break My Soul in a bid to note land in the Strictly danger zone but, unfortunately, they fell victim to the 'middle of the leaderboard' curse.

Fleur and Vito landed in the dance-off with EastEnders actor James Bye and his partner Amy Dowden and, after both reprised their dances from earlier, it was James and Amy who were unanimously voted off. As far as viewers at home were concerned, both pairs only performed once but, in reality, that wasn't the case.

READ MORE: Lorraine Kelly suffers wardrobe 'malfunction' as fans contact ITV

The weekly results show isn't staged on Sunday, as the BBC would have fans believe, it is actually filmed hours after the Strictly live show finishes, explaining the small time frame viewers have to get there votes in. And those present in the ballroom at the weekend saw Fleur and Vito have a mishap with a prop at the start of their dance-off, forcing both of them to fall to the floor, before being given a chance to start over.

Speaking to The Sun, a source said: "Poor Fleur looked stunned and devastated, and no one really knew what was happening on or off stage. Eventually, the warm-up guy came on and addressed the audience while Fleur and Vito got checked out.

Fleur East and Vito Coppola during the live show of Strictly Come Dancing (PA)

"They started their dance again and obviously this second version was the one aired. There was no reference to the fall by the judges either."2

The insider claims that James didn't seem 'too bothered' by what happened, although others were shocked. a BBC spokesperson has now addressed the situation, saying; "After an incident with a prop at the beginning of Fleur and Vito's dance-off performance, the decision was made to halt proceedings to check they were not injured."

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