Strictly Come Dancing: Louis Smith reveals Sid Owen's exit before results aired

Gymnast rapped by BBC bosses for revealing result too early
Sid and Ola were sent home over Colin Salmon and Kristina Rhianoff
Figures show Strictly continues to beat X Factor in the ratings battle

PUBLISHED: 05:53 EST, 29 October 2012 | UPDATED: 06:36 EST, 29 October 2012

Louis Smith has been warned by BBC1 bosses after revealing Sid Owen's exit from Strictly Come Dancing hours before the results show aired.

The gymnast's error occurred because the Strictly results show is in fact filmed directly after the main show, on a Saturday night, although it is not aired until Sunday.

So Louis' tweet, offering commiserations to former EastEnders actor Sid and dance partner Ola Jordan, was a huge spoiler to millions of fans of the show.

Revelations: Sid Owen's exit from Strictly Come Dancing was revealed early on Twitter by Louis Smith

Louis wrote on Twitter: 'Wat an amazing bu emotional roller coaster. So much luv for @FlaviaCacace & it's so sad to say bye to @sidowen5 and @TheOlaJordan #crewlove.'

'Embarrassed': Louis was told off by BBC bosses for his error

However, the tweet was quickly deleted after BBC bosses rang and told Louis to alter his Twitter page.

A source told The Sun: 'Saturday night can be quite overwhelming and emotional for the celebrities, especially when someone leaves the contest. Louis was so caught up in the show that he totally forgot that TV audiences, along with fans who follow him on Twitter, hadn't seen the result.

'The importance of keeping he show result has been impressed upon Louis. He is embarrassed about it, but it was an honest mistake.'

Sid and Ola were axed from Strictly on Sunday night after a 'week from hell', which saw them have just two hours rehearsal together prior to the main performance.

The actor had been forced to rehearse with a different partner when Ola had to fly home to Poland to be with her mother, who had suffered a heart attack.

He said: 'We really have had the week from hell. Ola has been through it with her mum and we only had a few hours together to practice.

Breaking the news: Louis took to his Twitter page to announce the news to his 135,000 followers

'Literally, we had two hours and that was it. Ola wasn't happy with the routine because she hadn't put it together, so she wasn't feeling it.

'She was nervous and that really rubbed off on me. I knew she wasn't happy and wasn't in the right frame of mind after what she'd been through.

'But you've just got to do what you're given and try to make the most of your routine, which is what we did.'

Sad times: The results show is recorded directly after the main show on Saturday night, but not aired until Sunday

The moment of truth: Judge Bruno Tonioli had the deciding vote, choosing to send home Sid and Ola

Ola - whose mother is now recovering at home - admitted she felt "guilty" leaving Sid in the hands of Iveta Lukosiute while she was away and had hoped their tough circumstances would've led to public sympathy.

She said: 'I feel really bad and guilty - I just didn't want us to go out this week because I've bee away and it's not Sid's fault I wasn't here.

'I had hoped people would realise how tough it has been for us this week and give us some votes.'

Too safe: Sid is criticised for playing it safe but partner Ola wows in tiny playsuit

The better dancers: Kristina Rihanoff and Colin Salmon managed to survive another week in the tough competition

Sid insisted their poor performance was not Ola's fault, adding: 'I'm a bit gutted but I've had a good time. Ola said she felt bad about leaving me and I told her, "Don't worry about me". It's more important that family comes first.'

Meanwhile, ratings figures from Sunday night's programmes show that Strictly continued its lead over X Factor.

According to audience numbers, an average audience of 9.2million people tuned into the pre-recorded Strictly results show between 7.20 and 8pm on Sunday night, peaking with 10.1million viewers.

Not impressed: The judges didn't like the routine although Sid and Ola seemed to have a good time

The figures are slightly down from last week's show, which had a peak of 10.3million.

In comparison, an average of 8.9million viewers tuned into the X Factor results to watch Jade Ellis be voted out of the competition - the lowest-rated results show figure in the past four years.

However, the programme did have a higher peak audience of 10.8million viewers, and if the figures take in the numbers from ITV1+1 as well, the show was watched by 9.2million people - although this is still down by 400,000 from last week's numbers.

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Strictly Come Dancing: Louis Smith reveals Sid Owen's exit before results aired

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