Strictly: Tilly Ramsay wows with Foxtrot after slamming Steve Allen over THAT ‘chubby’ remark

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Strictly Come Dancing’s Tilly Ramsay bounced back with a beautiful Foxtrot on Saturday night following her recent run-in with Steve Allen over his fat-shaming comments about her.

The CBBC presenter, 19, and her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin left the judges and audience in awe with their defiant dance to Little Things by One Direction, with Tilly remarking that it had been a ‘tough week’ with her technique.

Meanwhile, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe topped the leaderboard with an impressive 38 points following their epic Charleston to Milord by Édith Piaf. 

Tilly, who looked sensational a sparklingly baby blue gown gave it her all on the dance floor as she brushed aside the recent drama to give a stellar performance which earned herself and Nikita an impressive score of 36 points. 

Speaking following their dance, head judge Shirley Ballas gushed that it was ‘beautiful’ and ‘unbelievable’, adding that she ‘very rarely’ sees a lady who can stay connected to a man’s right side.’ 

While Anton Du Beke remarked: ‘you are joyous! I’m convinced you’d be a joy to dance with.’

Craig Revel Horwood picked up on Tilly’s ‘flow’, ‘elegance’ and ‘grace’, before adding that the performance was ‘absolutely gorgeous’.

While a clearly emotional Motsi Mabuse that the way Tilly dances ‘touches my heart’, remarking that she could see a ‘young woman growing on the dancefloor.’

Tilly’s hard work clearly paid off as the judges dished out 9 points each, giving her an overall score of 36 points.

Following her performance, Tilly told Claudia Winkleman that it had been a ‘tough week’ as she learned to perfect her technique, but she’s also had a tough week amid the fallout from Steve Allen’s scathing remarks aimed at her.

Tilly’s performance comes after she hit out at LBC’s presenter Steve, 67, for calling her a ‘chubby little thing’ during his radio show earlier this week. 

The beauty took to Instagram on Wednesday to respond to radio presenter Steve fat-shaming her on his radio show.

In the post, Tilly revealed she was ‘learning to accept’ herself but had still been left ‘hurt’ by the shocking remarks. 

Alongside the statement she shared a soundbite from Steve’s show, in which he read out a comment from a listener alerting him to the fact Tilly was taking part in Celebrity MasterChef Australia. 

Steve – who is on air between 4am and 7am – then remarked: ‘Is she? Well, she can’t blimming well dance!   

‘I’m bored of her already. She’s a chubby little thing isn’t she. Have you noticed? Probably her dad’s cooking I should imagine.’

In response to the remarks, Tilly penned: ‘I try not to read and listen to comments and negativity however recently being called out on a national radio station by a 67-year-old man is a step too far. 

‘Steve please feel free voice your opinions however I draw the line at commenting on my appearance. It’s such a shame that someone is trying to make such a positive experience negative.’   

Tilly continued: ‘This isn’t the first and definitely wont’ be the last comment made about my appearance and I accept that and I’m learning to accept myself. But please remember that words can hurt. And at the end of the day I am only 19 and I’m so grateful for all the amazing opportunities I have been able to take part in. 

‘And I understand that being in the public eye obviously comes with it’s own repercussions and I’ve been aware of this from a young age. However, I won’t tolerate people that think it’s okay to publicly comment and scrutinise anyone’s weight and appearance. Love Tilly xx’ She captioned the post  ‘#bekind’. 

In the wake of Tilly’s comments about Steve, there has been an outpouring of support for the star from fans and other celebrities.

Tilly was deeply touched when Love Island’s Dr Alex George wrote an email to LBC telling the station he was ‘absolutely horrified by the remarks’.

While Gemma Collins took to Instagram on Friday to share a bottom-baring selfie in response to LBC DJ Steve Allen’s latest trolling campaign. 

It came years after he branded Gemma ‘fat’ and likened her to Star Wars character Jabba The Hutt. 

Meanwhile, celebrities including Amy Hart, Rhian Sugden and Megan McKenna have come forward to share their own experiences of being trolled and to call for him to be fired.

While Tilly pulled off an impressive routine on Saturday night, it was John Whaite and Johannes Radebes who came out on top as they earned an incredible 38 points.

The duo dazzled with their fun and energetic Charleston which was full of tricks and flicks and left everyone on their feet.

Motsi gushed over the duo’s ‘energy’ and ‘character’, while Anton’simply described their routine as ‘Just amazing’.

Craig agreed with Anton that it was ‘amazing’ before revealing the dance took him back to his days dancing at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

Dan Walker and his partner Nadiya Bychkova were the first on the floor in week 5, where they performed a a beautiful Viennese waltz to She’s Always A Woman by Billy Joel,  which is his wife Sarah’s favourite song. 

Commenting on the performance, Shirley said that Dan was ‘extremely consistent, which is a good thing’, but insisted that he needed to ‘belief in yourself’ more as he’s ‘turning into quite the dancer’.

Up next, Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and Katya Jones danced a sizzling Samba to Faith by George Michael, which certainly livened up the audience and the judges.

Craig remarked: ‘I don’t know if anybody noticed the gyrating? There was a lot of gyrating’, while Motsi joked: ‘I wouldn’t want to miss those hips in my life.’

With Anton commenting: ‘This was amazing but I don’t really know why. There was a lot about it that made me go twitchy but there was a lot that was right.’

After topping the leaderboard last week, Sara Davies didn’t fare too well this time around as her and Aljaz Skorjanec’s rumba to You’re Still The One by Shania Twain failed to impress Craig.

Glaring at the pair, he moaned that it ‘lacked passion and became a non-event’, adding that the dance was ‘too polite and conversational’.

However, there was a more positive response from the other judges, with Shirley noting it was ‘balletic and warm’ before going on to praise the Dragon’s Den star’s ‘amazing vertical spine.’ 

Elsewhere, Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden were hoping to impress with their plethora of lifts and tricks during their salsa to Harry Style’s Watermelon Sugar. 

The judges collectively agreed that the energetic performance was the singer’s best dance so far in the competition, with Craig adding: ‘Darling, you are just going from strength to strength’.

Their comments were also reflected in their scores as they were rewarded with 34 points, their highest score so far. 

Following disappointing scores the previous week, AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington were set on leaving the judges in awe with their fiery Argentine tango to Edge Of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks.

And they certainly did just that as head judge Shirley gave them a standing ovation before gushing: ‘This is for me about as good as it gets. World championship level for me!’

Agreeing with her colleague, Motsi said the dance was ‘phenomenal’, while Anton said it was ‘terrific’.

The same high praise wasn’t awarded to returning contestant Ugo Monye who performed the rumba to Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic alongside Oti Mabuse. 

After missing last week due to a back injury, there was no sympathy from Craig, who told Ugo that his dance ‘lacked musicality’ and was ‘stiff and heavy footed’. 

Shirley observed that Ugo was ‘a little bit off’, with Anton commenting that there were ‘a few technical issues’, adding: ‘it weren’t your best, but weren’t your worst!’

Elsewhere, EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis put her acting skills to the test as she performed a dramatic but elegant Viennese waltz to the Alicia Keys song Fallin’ alongside partner Giovanni Pernice. 

And the dramatic segment at the beginning in which saw Rose portray a woman contemplating leaving her lover saw Shirley take a trip down memory lane as she quipped: ‘”It was like watching my own life story there with my ex-husbands.’

Motsi told how the dance had ‘the it factor’, while a pleased Craig uttered his famous catchphrase: ‘fab-u-lous!’

Rounding off the evening, Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu took to the floor with an American Smooth to I’ve Got The World On A String by Michael Bublé.

And the duo certainly ended the night in style as Anton gushed that the presenter was ‘a real talent’, with Craig swooning: ‘I could watch you dance all night!’ 

This week’s show saw the absence of Judi Love after she was forced to drop out of after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Loose Women presenter, 40, who was due to perform the Cha-cha with dance partner Graziano Di Prima, 27, will be given a free pass to compete in the show the following week- providing she has a negative Covid test.

Judi is the second star to miss a live show due to Covid, with McFly’s Tom Fletcher, 36, and his dance partner Amy Dowden, 31, missing out on week two of the series.

A Strictly spokesperson said: ‘Judi Love has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating following the latest government guidelines. 

‘While Judi and Graziano will not be taking part in Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, Strictly Come Dancing protocols mean that all being well, they will return the following week.’

Meanwhile, week 5 saw the return of rugby star Ugo Monye, who last week was forced to pull out of the show due to injury.

The rugby union player, 38, – who is partnered with Oti Mabuse – took to Twitter to reveal to fans that he was suffering from ‘back problems’ but would be back the week after. 

Ugo wrote to fans last week: ‘Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to dance this weekend on the show. 

‘I have a history of back problems which has always been managed under the guidance of medical professionals. Unfortunately this has been causing me some unwanted problems this week!

‘I have been advised by medical professionals and with huge support from Strictly to get some treatment & rest to ensure that I can get myself back to full capacity and fighting fit for next week.’

Ugo concluded that he was ‘gutted’ to not be returning to the dance floor this weekend alongside professional partner Oti.

‘Wishing all the other contestants the best of luck & will be cheering them on from home,’ the star concluded in his Twitter thread.

Ugo’s announcement came just a day after Robert Webb bowed out of the show, admitting he had ‘bitten off more than he could chew’, having an ongoing heart condition two years after undergoing open-heart surgery. 

His pro partner, Dianne Buswell also left the competition.  

Strictly Come Dancing Continues Saturday at 7.10pm on BBC One.