Strictly's Shirley Ballas is slammed for 'objectifying' Pete Wicks as fans say she would be 'sacked' if she were a man

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Shirley Ballas has been criticised for 'objectifying' Strictly Come Dancing contestant Pete Wicks and said she would be 'sacked' by the BBC if she were a man. 

The judge, 64, was very impressed by Pete Wicks on last weekend's show as he performed a Cha Cha Cha to I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred.

The former TOWIE star, 36, was dressed in tight pink trousers for the performance which saw him do a lot of playful hip action for the audience.

Shirley looked slightly flustered after Pete's performance and said she would have to 'calm herself down' while fellow judge Anton Du Beke fanned her. 

However, some viewers were unimpressed with Shirley's reaction, saying a male judge making remarks like that about a female contestant would not go down well.

Taking to Reddit, one viewer wrote: '#Actually, I think the one gripe that I have with tonight's show was the objectification of Pete from Shirley. 

'Tsk tsk tsk, I am a fan of treating men and women alike as objects to be leered at and desired. Not in my household.'

Another fan agreed, adding: 'Imagine if, instead of Shirley talking about a guy's buttocks popping in and out, we'd had Anton talking about a woman's t**s doing the same. It's unthinkable that it wouldn't be called out immediately.'   

One viewer wrote: 'If Shirley were a man she'd have been sacked by the BBC ten times over by now.'

Another responded to that comment and said: 'She'd have 100% been cancelled.' 

It comes after Shirley recently stood by her decision to send Shayne Ward home after receiving what she called a 'vitriol' reaction from some fans.

The head judge of the BBC dance competition said she was called 'evil' by some viewers after choosing to keep opera singer Wynne Evans and his dance partner Katya Jones in the competition over Shayne.

Speaking at the Winter Gardens to launch her second fiction novel, Dance to the Death, Shirley said she 'stands by her decision 150 per cent' and vowed to continue judging without 'fear or favour'.

She added: 'The audiences at home see certain camera angles, with all the effects and things like leaves falling down on the screen. 

'But as judges we just see the cold ballroom as it is. We see all the footwork and landings, little mistakes, things like that, that influence our decision.'

Fans wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'So wrong, Shirley Ballas makes me so cross. When judging it's ok to say one was joyous when they are dancing the same. How on earth can anyone say that when it's a gallop against the rumba.';

'Hopefully b****y go compare man will go next week. Shayne was the better dancer by far. Shirley and anton are so biased';

'If @ShirleyBallascan’t be impartial she shouldn’t be a judge let alone head judge. “Joyous” as a reason to save someone. Pathetic. #Strictly';

'Wrong so wrong #strictly Just because he's called Wynne doesn't mean he should.. Can you even do a joyous Rhumba Poor Shayne'.