Strictly's Brendan Cole hits out at reaction to Charlotte Hawkins' performance: "laughing at another's misfortune is disgusting"

The Strictly professional took to Twitter to say that "laughing at another's misfortune is disgusting" and that he objected to "belittling someone who has worked hard".

Cole's comments were made after his Cha Cha with the Good Morning Britain presenter went wrong on Saturday night. "I was very worried about the spin," Charlotte told Tess Daly immediately after their performance. "And then I forgot everything else."

This prompted judge Bruno Tonioli to howl with laughter, which caused Brendan's face to fall and for him to step forward to the judges' desk.

Charlotte then said "it's not funny" as Bruno made a zipping motion with his mouth and Brendan was told to get "back" by Daly.

After receiving 12 points for their dance, Brendan went on a Twitter rant about the events that unfolded:

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581452200824832

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581506839973888

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581546841051136

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581575261671424

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581600154857472

https://twitter.com/BrendanCole/status/914581632899846146

Their dance was described as a "dance disaster" by Craig Revel Horwood.

Shirley Ballas said that her heart went out to Charlotte and that the routine might have served her better if it had been more simple – prompting Brendan to retort that the routine was "spot on" for the week in practice, but that he had felt the nerves in Charlotte on the dance floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq9mdv2Iw-Y

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday on BBC1.