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Strictly has made men feel it's "ok to move and be emotional", says English National Ballet chief

Tamara Rojo, the Principal Ballerina and Artistic Director of the English National Ballet is a Strictly fan - Getty Images
Tamara Rojo, the Principal Ballerina and Artistic Director of the English National Ballet is a Strictly fan - Getty Images

Strictly Come Dancing has shown men that it is “ok for men to move and feel emotional” says the English National Ballet director, Tamara Rojo.

She added that the show has opened up the world of dance to men, and it has been “fabulous” for doing so.

In an interview with The Observer, Rojo, who is also principal dancer at the ENB, said of Strictly: “I do watch it, mainly for Darcey [Bussell] because I love her.

“It’s fabulous what Strictly has done for dance – especially opening it to men, making them feel it’s ok to move and be emotional.”

Rojo, 44 was born in Canada, raised in Spain, but calls herself a Londoner after living here for well over a decade and was among an audience of 11.3 million viewers to watch Strictly’s broadcast from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom on Saturday evening.

'Song of the Earth' Ballet featuring Tamara Rojo performed by English National Ballet at the London Coliseum, UK - Credit: Alastair Muir / AMX
Tamara Rojo is starring in Akram Khan's Giselle until the new year Credit: Alastair Muir / AMX

This weekend, newsreader Kate Silverton and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec faced former cricketer Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse in the dance-off after their scores combined with the public vote put them in last place.

Silverton and Skorjanec performed their American smooth to Everlasting Love by Love Affair again, while Swann and Mabuse repeated their theatre and jazz routine to The Trolley Song from the film Meet Me In St Louis.

The judges unanimously chose to save Swann and Mabuse, leaving Silverton and Skorjanec to waltz away from the dancefloor.

The pair had been given 30 points for their routine during Saturday's show putting them second to last on the leaderboard.

Kate Silverton and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec  - Credit:  Guy Levy/BBC
Kate Silverton and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec left Strictly this week Credit: Guy Levy/BBC

Paralympian Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard, who had come at the bottom with just 25, avoided the dance off entirely, thanks to the public vote. Former Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev scored the first 40 points of the series for their jive.

Saturday night's programme drew an average of 10.2 million viewers and a peak of 11.3 million and an audience share of 48.6%, the BBC said.

This is an increase from last week's episode, which had 9.9 million on average, and the previous week, which had an average of 9.5 million viewers.

The last time a Saturday night edition of Strictly scored as highly in the ratings was in mid-October, when Seann Walsh and his partner Katya Jones performed for the first time after they were pictured kissing.