Strictly Come Dancing fans have clocked the moment judges Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse realised they had an agonising decision to make on last night’s show.

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Actor, Lewis Cope, 30, left viewers heartbroken on Sunday when he was given his marching orders – along with his tearful professional partner, Katya Jones – following a nail-biting dance-off with Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.

It was a close call between the pair, with many fans saying Lewis performed better. But as he finished the dance-off with an elated-looking Katya, cameras shot to Shirley and Motsi, who both had their head in their hands.

Taking to X, sharing a screengrab of the moment, one viewer wrote: “Motsi and Shirley’s reaction after Lewis’ dance-off says it all.” Another agreed, saying the judges knew they had an impossible decision to make, sharing: “Straight away, as Lewis finished, Shirley’s head is on the table and looks at Motsi like: ‘What do we do?'”

However, replying to this, one angry fan retorted: “What do we do? You should have saved Lewis!”

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Furious fans threatened to boycott Strictly on Sunday as Lewis, who was one of the favourites to lift the Glitterball trophy, unexpectedly got the boot from the show.

Following his salsa, a heartbroken-looking Shirley sent through Amber and Nikita. Anton Du Beke wanted to send both couples through, but also chose Amber and Nikita.

Craig, meanwhile, called both performances equal but chose Amber and Nikita to make it a clean sweep and make them semi-finalists.

While many viewers couldn’t believe the result, some insisted the writing had been on the wall for a while, with fans turning away from the polished and professional – Lewis has appeared in the dance musical Billy Elliott as a child – towards stars, such as Love Island’s Amber, who had a story they could buy into – or, to use the TV term, a ‘journey’.

One fan posted: “Some of us want to see people on a ‘journey’ still. To see people improve each week. To find their confidence. To see people out of their comfort zone. I think that’s what Amber, Karen, George and Balvinder represent. I for one am enjoying their journeys.”

Emmerdale star Lewis has long insisted that his dance past hasn’t given him an advantage. He played Billy Elliott’s friend Michael in the hit musical about a boy who secretly takes ballet lessons and was also part of the dance troupe Ruff Diamond, who finished as runners-up on the Sky dance contest Got to Dance, which was fronted by Ashley Banjo, in 2013.

Praising her partner, Katya – who last year was paired with Welsh warbler Wynne Evans – clearly agreed that his exit was too early as she branded Lewis “the best male celebrity we’ve ever had on the show”.