Strictly Come Dancing 2016: Bruno Tonioli 'threatened to quit' after Anastasia controversy

DJ Melvin Odoom was sent home

(BBC)

This year’s Strictly Come Dancing has already proven controversial due to Sunday night’s dance-off being cancelled, the first time in the show’s history.

Fans were not the only ones annoyed with the BBC choice to put Anastacia automatically through to the next round; according to reports, Bruno Tonilio was on the verge of quitting the show.

The Daily Star claims the judge did not agree with the decision to allow the singer - who had torn the scar tissue around her double mastectomy - to go through, saying that if contestants can’t dance, they should leave the competition.

After some ‘gentle persuasion’ by show bosses, Tonilio was brought back on board to finish filming the pre-recorded Sunday final. DJ Melvin Odoom was eventually sent home while Anastacia has been given the all-clear by Doctors to dance again.

The BBC has since responded to the accustations the judge stormer out, a spokeperson saying: "The rules of the competition were not broken. As we stated in the event of a contestant being unable to participate in the Dance Off the result reverts to the public vote.

"We have contingency planning for many, many situations and as such the planned contingency action was invoked. Due to the nature of some of the content in the rules, which relate to personal matters, publishing them in full would compromise our duty of care to participants."

Recently, contestant Ed Balls explained on Radio 4 how he was ‘buckling under the pressure to get a spray tan’ for the show.