Stacey Dooley struggled to train for Strictly Come Dancing this week thanks to a painful rib injury, but luckily the 31-year-old knocked it out of the park with her Street and Commercial routine on last night’s BBC show.
Delivering a romantic and refreshing performance to Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind Part II, Stacey’s efforts sent the studio audience wild and even achieved a standing ovation from head judge Shirley Ballas.
The dance ended with an eyeopening moment which saw Kevin, 36, place his hat in front of their faces, leading some to believe the pair were about to share a theatrical kiss.
Instead, the sweet moment was a fitting end to the rousing performance and Kevin used the cover as a means of praising his dance partner for all of her hard work this week.
In the wake of the dance however, some viewers were unimpressed with the “pretend kiss”, and took to Twitter to warn the couple not to do it again.
This comes after former contestant and comedian Seann Walsh, 32, was publicly pictured kissing his professional dance partner Katya Jones, 29, who is married to fellow pro Neil Jones.
One person wrote: “Don’t kiss her behind the hat, Kevin; you know what happened to Seann. #Strictly.”
“Imagine tomorrow’s papers with what happens behind the hat #Strictly,” another worried.
A third guessed: “That hat was remarkably still then. I’m sensing someone shared a smooch #Strictly.”
Others praised the contestant for her ability to continue after battling her rib injury all week, while some were upset newscaster Kate Silverton’s similar journey wasn’t referenced in her VT.
“Stacey’s professionalism shows! #strictly,” one person enthused, followed by: “Stacey Dooley is such a beautiful and talented lady. We don’t see enough of her on TV. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly2018.”
“Is it me or are they seriously pushing for a Stacey and Kevin win? I’m convinced at this point. The emotionally dramatic VTs, the overmarking, the constant praise, the ignoring faults, etc. #Strictly,” another criticised.
A fourth viewer added: “#Strictly Not sure about this… Kate has had to have injections because of a detached muscle from her ribs, is in constant pain and it’s only mentioned briefly in passing.
“Yet Stacey’s injury is heavily featured in her VT? Hoping that Audience manipulation isn’t at play here?”
According to The Mirror, Kevin could be heard telling Stacey he was “so proud” of her behind his hat.
The popular celebrity was forced to miss two days of rehearsals after being rushed to hospital with muscle pain.
Despite this, Stacey was eager to continue on, as she joked in her VT: “Get the kettle on Kev, I’ll see you in the training room.”
Former Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts and her partner Pasha Kovalev were top of the leaderboard when last night’s show came to a close.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 7.50pm on BBC One.
