Anton Du Beke and Katie Derham deny Strictly Come Dancing 'fix'

Katie Derham and Anton Du Beke battled it out with Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko

Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke and his dance partner Katie Derham have hit back at claims that the show's judges "helped" them into the final.

Du Beke told Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2 it was "impossible" the show is fixed.

Proms presenter Derham added: "Chris, like you I've worked for the BBC for a very long time. That sort of stuff just doesn't, cannot, wouldn't happen."

Some newspapers have reported that fans were angry after the judges saved Katie and Anton and removed Anita and Gleb.

The Sun's headline read: "Strictly Conned Dancing". The paper added that viewers claimed "producers used dry ice to disguise Katie's poor footwork" and the judges unfairly saved him so he could dance in the final.

Katie Derham and Anton Du Beke have cut a few shapes on the Strictly dancefloor

It is the first time in the show's 11-year history that Du Beke has reached the final, having usually been eliminated early on. His previous partnerships have included Anne Widdecombe, Nancy Dell'Olio and Kate Garraway.

Speaking on Radio 2, Derham said there were "too many people [at the BBC] keeping an eye on all the Ts being crossed and the Is being dotted. And also, can I just say, how can it be fixed when it's mostly the public voting?"

Du Beke added: "Forget it. Forget it. It's impossible!"

Some viewers felt Anita Rani should have reached the final

He said the dance-off is "judged on the dance that you put in front of the judges".

He added: "That's the moment when they've got to go, and the dance-off went well. There were no mistakes."

Du Beke and Derham were up against journalist and presenter Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko in Sunday's dance-off. Although Rani and her partner had a higher combined score for their two semi-final dances, they lost out.

Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko performed a salsa and earned 32 points, as well as another 32 for their foxtrot.

Du Beke and Derham danced a waltz in the dance-off as it had scored 31 points, beating their Charleston from the same show, which earned them 25 points and put them at the bottom of the leader board.

Bruno Tonioli said of their waltz: "All errors have been erased from my memory."

Head judge Len Goodman said: "I'm just judging this on this one dance. Nothing that's been, nothing that could be in the future or in the final, on this one dance. It was totally clear - Katie and Anton."