Tony Adams bids emotional farewell as Ellie Simmonds' shock Strictly exit sparks backlash

Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du Beke, 56, became a proud dad to twins Henrietta and George at around the time he began his sixth decade of life.The dance champ turned judge has shared a studio with idols including Beyonce and Kylie Minogue, and even won a NTA this year for being the UK's most popular talent show judge. But despite all of his achievements, he feels the most monumental one by far is becoming a father.Anton's wife Hannah Summers gave birth aged 41 via IVF - and now a thrilled Anton admits that his children would love to follow in his footsteps and become dancers themselves one day."We had the greatest fortune," he marvelled as he thanked his "lucky stars" that Hannah had been able to get pregnant as a mature mum.He now regards his kids as his "greatest joy" and says that, no matter what career path they choose to follow when they grow up, he'll be supporting them every step of the way."[Having children] has been the best thing that ever happened in my life...

“Right now we’re in a place where he seems comfortable and I seem comfortable and it isn’t necessary at the moment," she told The Mirror.In the past three weeks, the 62-year-old has been in the spotlight after Strictly viewers took aim at the head judge.This includes being branded “sexist” towards singer Fleur East, “jealous” of TV star Kym Marsh and is now the bookies’ favourite to get sacked by 2023.Despite the trouble, however, she has received support not least from her loving husband.Her colleagues, who include judges Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke, and Motsi Mabuse, as well as Strictly favourite Bruno Tonioli, have given her their unwavering support.Speaking further about the “trolling” she has received, Shirley said it has been worse this year than any other time in the past.It came as the Strictly judge was accused of sexism, claims she vehemently denied adding, “you couldn’t be further away from sexist than I am”.Fans have hit out at Shirley for reported favouritism towards the show’s male contestants.The series judge has also been accused of having “favourites whether they have ability or not”, with some viewers calling for her to be sacked on Twitter as they claim she has “no credibility as a judge”.Not long after, Shirley was lambasted by critics for giving Fleur East a nine out of 10, when other judges were hesitant to award her highly.@Cumiskey55 penned: “Come off it Shirley.That was not a 9 performance by any means.“You’ve obviously been told to tone it down on Fleur.

Strictly favourite Hamza Yassin has revealed the secret behind his dancefloor success – years spent tossing the caber in the tiny Scots village he calls home. The BBC wildlife presenter, whose stunning lifts have made him the stand-out star of this year’s show, said training for the traditional strongman event at his local Highland games has definitely given him an edge.

Tony Adams, 56, while the former Arsenal legend takes part in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.Speaking on his successful podcast, Wrighty’s House, Ian said that he has to give Tony a “maximum amount of respect” after watching him dance a Salsa on Saturday night while in the studio audience.Ian, who first signed for Arsenal back in 1991 for a cool £2.5million, was spotted by viewers supporting his former teammate, alongside his wife, in the Strictly audience.After Tony and professional dance partner Katya Jones finished last on the leaderboard as their Salsa scored 21 out of 40, the camera turned to Ian, who looked totally bemused.With his hands clasped together, Ian had his mouth open after watching Tony's dance.

Strictly's Giovanni Pernice, who clinched the Glitterball trophy last year for his performance with the show's first ever deaf contestant, Rose Ayling-Ellis, was devastated when he saw Ellie Simmonds, who has dwarfism, get the boot in week seven. Giovanni was axed very early on after his and Richie Anderson's performance in warthog and meerkat costumes from The Lion King seemed more like comedy than a dance contest to many - but he passionately defended Ellie.Taking to Instagram, he directly responded to Ellie's pro partner Nikita Kuzmin to make it clear how he felt."Way too early!!" he exclaimed, adding: "You guys were a dream to watch!! Both of you, be proud of what you have achieved."Watching Ellie's success was dear to Giovanni's heart as she won over the nation for weeks while Nikita transformed their routines to work for her - and the Italian pro has his own experience of dancing with someone living with a disability.His 2021 partner, Rose, who says she can sense the music via its vibrations, also chimed in on Instagram to praise and comfort Ellie after her exit."Absolutely love watching you both.

Tony Adams, 56, has made it halfway through Strictly Come Dancing, but away from the training room he has welcomed three new additions to his family farm in the Cotswolds. After promising Claudia Winkleman, 50, that he would name one of his piglets after her on the Strictly results show, Tony also revealed he had named one of the animals Katya, and the third Anton Du Pig.Sharing some heartwarming images of the piglets at his £2 million home, Tony wrote on Twitter: “Our 3 new arrivals cuddled up - Anton Du Pig left, Katya middle and the runt, Claudia Winklepig right.“Look at Claudia elegantly going down the steps.”In response to the honour of having a pig named after them, both Claudia and Strictly judge Anton Du Beke replied to the tweet, which gained more than 6,000 likes.Anton, 56, commented: “Utterly adorable,” whilst Claudia added: “This is amazing x.”Many of Tony’s 96,500 Twitter followers also commented to express their fondness for the cute animals and the Strictly-themed names they have been given.User Sophie Gane wrote: “This is the best tweet I’ve ever seen.

STRICTLY Come Dancing's Katya Jones has spoken about her row with dance partner Tony Adams captured at the end of last week's show. Last weekend eagle-eyed Strictly fans noticed how Tony, 56, appeared to be having a heated chat with Katya, 33, after their "awkward" salsa performance.

Janette Manrara, 38, publicly apologised to Rylan Clark, 34, after she cheekily tricked him live on television during It Takes Two.The pair, who both host the BBC Two Strictly spin off show on separate days, showed off their level of good friendship after Janette pretended to be a viewer and wrote into the show. Rylan then unwittingly proceeded to read out Janette’s fake letter, in which she declared her love for real-life husband Aljaž Škorjanec, demanding that he should return to the show to do more presenting.The seemingly staged segment of the show started shortly after Rylan had finished catching up with contestants Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.Segwaying into the next section, Rylan said: “We always love to hear from you lot at home and we have had a lovely letter from one of you at home this week.“I have it here and I am actually going to read it out.

The Twitter user penned: “What bravery, taking on both Red Bull/Max fans and daring to question the integrity of Strictly. Who next?“Just don't point out the flaws in Bake off (filmed in summer but they make Pru and Paul wear thick coats for the Halloween bit).”Retweeting the response, Nick defended himself, reiterating that the show was not only about being a good dancer.Nick wrote: “I’m not questioning its integrity at all - I’m just saying it’s an entertainment show.“People seem to be getting very upset the best dancers aren’t necessarily getting through but if it was a dancing competition only then it would be full of only professional dancers.”Earlier today, Nick logged onto the social media platform again to urge people against sending Tony nasty comments.Nick penned: “Can I just point out to all of you getting your knickers in a twist & saying unpleasant things about #TonyAdams or his dancing @bbcstrictly“He’s brave enough to try, lives in my village, is a lovely guy AND has family & kids & maybe u might think about them before you tweet?” (sic)But despite the controversy, Tony shared an emotional farewell to Ellie in an Instagram post shared on Sunday.He shared a picture of the pair sharing a hug after they had performed their dances with their respective couples. Following the news of her exit, he wrote: “Ellie Simmonds is THE most remarkable woman I have ever met.“What an honour to share a Strictly dance floor.

STRICTLY Come Dancing fans have been left furious after spotting Shirley Ballas' "rude and disrespectful" comment to a pro dancer. Viewers of the BBC One dancing competition were left in shock after the head judge called Dianne Buswell the wrong name.

KYM Marsh has been forced to call in sick for Strictly rehearsals today after falling ill. The TV favourite, 46, was due to get back in the practise room with Graziano Di Prima after surviving another week, but didn't feel up to it – just days after she suffered major panic attacks backstage.

STRICTLY Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin broke down in tears and told Ellie Simmonds "I love you" after they were axed from the show. Nikita, 24, and Paralympic swimmer Ellie, 27, landed in the bottom two alongside Carlos Gu and Mollie Rainford during Sunday night's results show. After he and Ellie were sent home - in a result that shocked viewers - he is said to have broken down off camera and shared the sweet message with his partner.

Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Simmonds became the sixth star to be booted off the show on Sunday night.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have hit out after a spoiler for week seven of the popular ballroom and Latin dance show was posted online.

STRICTLY fans are convinced Shirley Ballas has reignited a 'feud' with Fleur East. Last month, viewers took to Twitter to declare the head judge had it in for Fleur after Shirley revealed she would have saved Richie Anderson over the former X Factor star in the dance off during Movie Week. While the feud rumours have quietened down in recent weeks, they were reignited once again tonight after Shirley's comments to Fleur following her latest routine.

STRICTLY star Tony Adams was caught having a heated "argument" with his dance partner Katya Jones. The pair were seen having an intense exchange of words in the background as hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly ended the show.

STRICTLY fans spotted Ian Wright's hilarious reaction after watching his ex-Arsenal teammate Tony Adams' "awkward" salsa. Tony and his dance partner Katya finished last on the leaderboard with 21 points after he lost his footing.

Hamza Yassin, 32, who has swapped the outdoors for the ballroom was filmed by professional dancing partner Jowita Przystal, 28, looking rather glum after he found out that he had put on odd dancing shoes.Shared with her 64,500 Instagram followers, the video saw Hamza sitting down in the rehearsal room looking rather annoyed over the wardrobe blip.Explaining to the camera “it is one of those mornings,” the wildlife photographer explained that he came across the problem when brushing his shoes.He told the camera: “I came to brush this shoe, absolutely fine,” demonstrating the action to the camera.“I came to brush this shoe, something’s wrong,” Hamza continued, changing feet.“It’s got a plastic sole.“I have been wearing two different shoes for most of the morning.”Huffing about his school-boy error Hamza added that he thought something was “wrong with me” after he could only get grip with one foot.He continued to say: “I’m getting grip on one foot more than the other.“Now I understand why.”“It is just one of those days.Start again shall we?” Hamza finished.Having already performed well in the competition so far, always being near the top of the leaderboard, Hamza’s wardrobe malfunction is a small setback in their training for week seven of the competition.However, when appearing on a recent episode of It Takes Two, Hamza revealed fears about his upcoming Cha Cha Cha, which he will perform on Saturday night.Dancing to I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by the Four Tops on the next week of Strictly Come Dancing, Hamza did not seem too thrilled with the routine.Speaking with It Takes Two host Janette Manrara he shared: “I can't wait to be smiling but I must admit the Cha Cha Cha makes no sense.“The rhythm is out, the

Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Molly Rainford has been impressing judges with her moves in recent weeks with the help of professional dance partner Carlos Gu, 28.