Shirley Ballas made a much-anticipated appearance on Wednesday's This Morning following the very public kissing scandal on Strictly Come Dancing. After photos of Seann Walsh and his dance partner Katya Jones kissing were published at the weekend, fans were hoping that Shirley would give her opinion on it during the interview. Phillip Schofield was quick to ask her about the kiss, and while she tried to avoid the topic, it was picked up by the ITV host, who told her: "Nice dodge." Shirley then went on to defend the couple, saying that she was on the show to judge their "dancing only."
Shirley Ballas avoided talking about the Strictly kiss on This Morning
On Twitter, viewers were quick to comment on how Shirley smoothly avoided talking about her Strictly co-stars on live TV, despite Holly and Phil's best efforts. "Shirley is completely smashing this interview, completely agree with everything she’s saying. It's none of our business. It's a dance competition." Another said: "Shirley Ballas doesn't want to talk about Seann Walsh and Katya Jones. Move on." A third added: "Some good swerving there Shirley! Good try Phil and Holly."
MORE: Shirley Ballas defends Seann Walsh and Katya Jones after kiss
Seann and Katya impressed with their Matrix-inspired dance just before the kissing pictures were published
Neither Seann or Katya have posted on social media since the photos emerged - something they regularly have been doing to keep fans updated with their dance rehearsals. Both have publicly apologised for their actions on their respective Twitter accounts, while Seann's now ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries wrote a statement on Twitter to explain her side of events, revealing that she hadn’t had an apology from Seann, and that the incident had taken place on her birthday.
READ: Strictly's Seann Walsh and Katya Jones WILL dance to THIS song on Saturday
Katya's husband and fellow Strictly pro Neil Jones is yet to comment directly on the kiss. He publicly showed his support for the couple following their Matrix-inspired Paso Doble on Saturday night, and on Monday morning posted a cryptic status highlighting "positive vibes." Neil shared a shirtless photo of himself, and wrote: "It’s Monday and if you don’t mind I’m just going to hang out by my rocks with my smoulder look."
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