Joe McFadden has defended Alexandra Burke against online trolls.
The 44-year-old actor – who beat Alexandra in ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ final in 2017 – has jumped to the 31-year-old singer’s defence after fans accused her of being a diva and "playing the victim" during the 15th series.
He’s quoted by the Daily Record as saying: "I have only ever known Alexandra to be hardworking, professional and a really lovely girl. The unfortunate thing about social media is everyone has an opinion.
"I’ve never known her to be any of the things people were saying at the time. She always had a positive and happy soul and was a pleasure to be around."
Alexandra’s ‘Strictly’ journey was blighted by rumours that she had fallen out with other contestants behind the scenes, but she believed the public attacked her as they mistook her confidence for arrogance.
Alexandra – whose mother, Soul II Soul singer Melissa Bell, died just before she was starting on the show – explained at the time: "I find it bizarre, because women shouldn’t feel that if they come across as too confident it can be mistaken for arrogance.
"That’s a massive problem we have over here [In Britain] … I’ve always been quite sad about how that came across with some people and what they would say on Twitter. But at the same time, people around me, that know me well enough, know what I’m like and how much effort I put into everything."
The former ‘X Factor’ winner opened up about her time on the show during an Instagram Live last month and thanked her "amazing" friends and family who helped her through the emotional time.
She said: "How I got through it, now I look back and I have no idea, no idea. I don’t even like thinking about that experience at all. But thankfully, my family and friends got me through it and the amazing fans that supported me.
"So anyone out there scared to speak your truth, speak your truth, that’s all we’ve got. We have one life."