Shirley Ballas "dreads" having to judge the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ dance-off every week.
The Latin expert admitted it was "incredibly hard" having to make the controversial choice to save Mollie King and send Aston Merrygold home two weeks ago, and she always hates that moment on the show, especially because as head judge, she has the deciding vote.
She said of the controversy: "That results show was incredibly hard. Having the deciding vote is the hardest part of this job and the thing I dread every week.
"They were both fantastic couples and it was so difficult to do. I was as shocked as everyone that they were in the dance-off.
"The fact that they were in the bottom two showed they did not have enough public votes.
"The judges make their decision based on the dance-off alone, not on previous performances. It is getting really tough now – it’s anyone’s to win.
"But if you have a favourite, make sure you vote."
The 57-year-old star joined the programme this year as a replacement for Len Goodman but she hasn’t yet committed to any future series, though she insists she would be "very happy" to come back.
She told HELLO! magazine: "I am a person who lives from day to day so I would like to just finish this series and see how we do, enjoy the moment and make no plans for the future.
"However, if I was asked back, I’d be very happy."
Despite keeping a close eye on all the contestants, Shirley has no idea who will scoop the glitterball trophy this year, and thinks that’s the most exciting thing about the series.
She said: "I enjoy seeing the people that you thought were perhaps not going to do so well suddenly come to the forefront.
"This is probably the hardest ‘Strictly’ ever to predict because, where we thought we had some front runners, other people have started to do different things that are quite amazing."
Shirley Ballas ‘dreads’ Strictly Come Dancing dance off
