The dance expert said it was clear that viewers were rooting for the pint-sized star after Saturday’s show.
And they don’t seem to mind that he has less technical skill than Ali Bastian or Ricky Whittle.
Arlene, TV Biz columnist and ex-Strictly judge, said: “For the first time on Saturday night I suddenly thought, ‘Do you know what? To my surprise, Chris Hollins could win this’. “It was a complete and utter shock. I sat up in bed and went, ‘Oh my goodness’.
“From never ever getting up on to the floor and dancing to where he is now, Chris has picked up so much.” Fans of the show seem to agree with Arlene – as Chris, 38, escaped the dance-off despite getting the second worst score out of the four remaining contestants.
He scored a reasonable 80 out of 100 from the five judges for his waltz and samba. That beat Laila Rouass, who got the boot after managing to scrape just 59 points. But Chris was behind Ricky and Ali, who got 95 and 86 respectively.
Chris stayed out of the bottom two thanks to overwhelming public support. He and stunning partner Ola Jordan, 27, are the only couple in the current series never to have faced the dance-off. And Arlene, 66, said she was not surprised that the presenter had won over viewers.
She explained: “He’s not the sort of winner where people would say, ‘Oh he doesn’t deserve to be in the final’ because, as far as he can, he doesn’t put a foot wrong.
“It can come down to something about their personalities when all of the couples in the final can dance.
“Viewers think Chris is fabulous because he hasn’t stopped playing to the audience.
“You have to entice the viewers to vote for you, you have to draw them to you.
“The audience demand someone who they feel is connecting to them. Chris does that best of all. He goes out there and makes the most of every moment on the floor.
“Of course, the judges are looking at what he’s doing wrong technically – but in terms of partnership, connection and the power that is beaming out of that pair, you can’t knock it.
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Well, I say Chris doesn’t deserve to be in the final. How much of the dancing does he actually do in the Latin sections? Not much; not that anybody notices, with the fabulous Ola dancing her heart out. Granted, he’s improved a lot, but haven’t Ali and Ricky? I’ve been watching on the understanding that this was primarily a dance competition, but I’ve been conned; it’s strictly a popularity contest, evidently. On that basis, John Sergeant should just have gone ahead and won, if the public had a mind to let him. Of course we all love an underdog, but at the expense of those who are working their socks off to achieve excellence? Are Ricky’s poor ‘phone votes nothing to do with him being on police bail after the car accident? Should this be allowed to be a deciding factor?
Why do the BBC insist on cancelling the dance off which will most likely allow the least talented dancer to get through to the final? This is so unfair on the talented dancers Ali Bastian and Ricky Whittle. After last year’s fiasco with Camilla and Tom getting through to the final by default and going on to win, have the BBC not learned their lesson? It is very frustrating to watch the programme now, knowing that the winner does not have to have dancing abilities to win the competition!!
Should Strictly Come Dancing be considered a dance competition if the highly talented Ali Bastian and Ricky Whittle (one of the best dancers ever on Strictly Come Dancing) do not reach the final?
I am not amused with the BBC\\\’s decision to scrap the dance off for tonight\\\’s semi-finals and think they should have given this careful consideration before making this ridiculous decision!
Another travesty! This is after all a dance contest and even Chris and Ola must realise that Alli and Brian are the far,far superior couple. They should do the decent thing and step aside. No one could disagree that Chris has given it his very best shot, but Chris, throw in the towel and make an evenly matched final for we, the viewers.