Beloved children's TV star Suzy Cato was controversially eliminated from Dancing With The Stars NZ on Monday night, but hundreds are refusing to believe she's gone for good.
A petition has now been launched online claiming Ms Cato was "unfairly voted off" the programme, and urging Mediaworks to bring her back.
In addition to the call for her elimination to be reversed, the petition also suggests another contestant should exit the show in her place: ACT Party leader David Seymour.
- Dancing With The Stars NZ: Judges, Suzy Cato fight back tears as she's eliminated
- Who better to offer advice for travelling parents than Suzy Cato
- Is Suzy Cato considering becoming an NZ politician?
The suggestion has drawn huge support already, attracting more than 1600 signatures.
"Suzy deserves this way more than David," one person wrote on the petition page. "I personally think David was only safe because he has a lot of fans."
Another user wrote: "Let's be honest, it's a joke that David Seymour is still on the show."
Mr Seymour's dances have received overwhelmingly negative feedback from the show's judges, with the politician finishing bottom of the leaderboard each of the six weeks he's been on the show.
Ms Cato, on the other hand, has been widely praised. Upon discovering she was in the bottom two, the judges were visibly surprised and upset - with judge Camilla adding that she'd thought Ms Cato would be in the final.
The Suzy's World star has received plenty of support since her elimination. Auckland councillor Richard Hills tweeted his support for her, saying she "did an amazing job".
"Thanks for being everyone's friends and one of my special local residents," he said.
Ms Cato was the sixth contestant to be eliminated, following the departures of radio host Robert Rakete, politician Marama Fox, and reality TV stars Gilda Kirkpatrick, Zac Franich and Naz Khanjani.
Ms Cato and her partner Matt had a dance-off with the other couple left in the competition, Shavaugn Ruakere and Enrique, but an energetic performance wasn't enough to save them.
Upon her exit, Suzy harked back to her iconic tune from Suzy's World to say goodbye.
"See you, see you later," she sang.
Viewers can help keep their favourite dancer in the competition by texting their first name to 3333 - each text costs 99c and net proceeds go to that star's chosen charity.
DWTS NZ airs Sundays 7pm and Mondays 7.30pm on Three, and all episodes can be viewed again on ThreeNow.
Newshub.
