Strictly's Alexandra Burke denies reports of backstage 'meltdown'

Alexandra Burke and partner Gorka Marquez during Saturday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing - PA
Alexandra Burke and partner Gorka Marquez during Saturday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing - PA

After being voted into the bottom two for the second week in a row, Strictly Come Dancing star Alexandra Burke reportedly had a "backstage meltdown", with the show's hosts rushing to console her.

According to The Sun, the one-time X Factor winner was left in floods of tears after facing off against EastEnders actor Davood Ghadami.

"Alexandra was sobbing and shaking in the green room after the dance-off," a source said. "She couldn't understand why the public had voted her into the bottom two for the second week in a row despite getting great scores.

"She had to be reassured by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, she seemed inconsolable."

Burke was previously voted into the bottom two last week, fighting for her place in the competition alongside comedian Susan Calman, who was eventually sent home.

This week's results were particularly bleak for Burke – despite coming joint top of the leaderboard with her charleston during Saturday's show, she still wound up in the bottom two, indicating that she is receiving very few votes.

As Michael Hogan wrote in our live blog, "Alexandra's unpopularity is presumably down to a combination of having too much previous dance experience and a lack of warm, genuine likeability, with many viewers finding her insincere."

Update:Burke took to Twitter to deny The Sun's story, writing that she did not suffer a "meltdown" and that she underwent physiotherapy backstage and then went home. "Just happy that we made it through another week," she added.