Strictly Come Dancing 2019 pair Mike Bushell, 53, and Katya Jones, 30, were saved by head judge Shirley Ballas, 59, after a dance-off against Catherine Tyldesley, 36, and Johannes Radebe, 32.
Today, Mike’s BBC Breakfast co-star Dan Walker, 42, defended the pair as he branded the abusive messages “cruel and ridiculous”.
The presenter shared a picture of the bottom two dancing duos in view of his 93,000 Instagram followers.
He wrote: “Fully understand that people loved watching @auntiecath17 & @johannesradebe on #Strictly but some of the abuse aimed at @mikebushellofficial @mrs_katjones & @shirleyballas is cruel and ridiculous.
“Shirley is doing her job and Mike & Katya are simply trying their best. Roll on next week.”
Many of the star’s fans shared their thoughts on his post, with one user writing: “Well said. It’s only dancing!”
A second commented: “Well said Dan, it’s only a dance comp nobody died!! I can’t believe some people!!”
“Totally agree with you Dan,” a third commented.
Following the result, Mike responded to various messages from viewers on Twitter.
One social media user wrote: “@mikebreakfast you should not be there any more not fair on real dancers.”
Hitting back at the viewer, the sports presenter replied: “Hi, it’s an entertainment show. I don’t pretend to be a real dancer.
“I like @IAmChrisRamsey and others are trying to learn from scratch. I got 32 for quick step and was Proud. I train 12 hour days to learn each dance.
“It’s not pro dance competition hope makes sense love mike.”(sic)
Head judge Shirley also responded to a Twitter user, who branded her the “worst judge” on the show.
They commented: “I really think it’s about time strictly replace Shirley ballas worse judge on it ! X.”(sic)
The head judge responded: “Sooo sorry you feel I’m the worst judge on the show. X enjoy the rest of the run it’s an amazing series.”(sic)
Other fans of the show called for her to be sacked after her final decision to send Catherine home.
Earlier this month, Shirley Ballas shared a picture of herself using a intravenous vitamin drip following a “tough week”.
The professional dancer told fans she was feeling “under the weather” days after she received death threats following the shock elimination of Dev Griffin and Dianne Buswell from the show.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday on BBC One.