Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Neil Jones hits back after Craig Revel Horwood criticised Alex Scott’s performance

Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil Jones has hit back after judge Craig Revel Horwood called out Alex Scott for sloppy footwork during last week’s live show.

The panellist, 54, claimed that Scott’s footwork was “all over the shop” during the pair’s tango to Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac and said that the former footballer, 35, was “being thrown about” during the routine.

However, he did praise her for improving her acting skills, which he said have “definitely come up more than a notch.”

Discussing the judge’s comments on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two last night, Jones, 37, defended his partner, revealing that he had watched the routine “over and over again” but could not spot a mistake.

“So for me, I’ve actually watched back the video over and over again,” he told host Zoe Ball. “[Scott] didn’t go wrong and even Artem [Chigvintsev] said the other day you didn’t go wrong.”

Scott also shared her shock at Revel Horwood’s comments, telling Ball: “I think that was my surprise, when they said that, because that was the best one yet.

“I loved the week training and the tango and when he said I went wrong, I was like, ‘did I?’”

Jones added: “No, she didn’t go wrong.”

The pair received 23 points for their routine, placing them at the bottom of the leaderboard, but managed to avoid the dance off due to their success in the public vote. Dev Griffin and Dianne Buswell became the third couple to leave the competition after landing in the bottom two with Viscountess Emma Weymouth and Aljaz Skorjanec.

Jones and Scott will be hoping to impress the judges with a Charleston to Pump Up The Jam on Saturday evening.

It Takes Two airs tonight at 6pm on BBC Two. Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, October 19 at 6.40pm on BBC One.

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