Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One with its opening week, and viewers were left frustrated over the judges' scoring decisions. John Nellis and Katya Jones topped the leaderboard with 31 points, while several celebrities shared the bottom spot.
Leaderboard standings after week one
The full leaderboard from the first week is as follows:
- John Nellis and Katya Jones – 31
- Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington – 29
- Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola – 27
- Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu – 26
- Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley – 24
- Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita – 22
- Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin – 22
- Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu – 21
- Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał – 20
- Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby – 20
- Will Best and Dianne Buswell – 18
- Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden – 16
- Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon – 15
- Shaun-Wright Phillips and Alexis Warr – 15
- Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec – 15
Paralympic star Dame Sarah Storey, football pundit Shaun-Wright Phillips, and actress Melanie Walters all finished joint-bottom after the opening week.
Viewers accuse judges of double standards
Audiences were particularly surprised by the modest scores given to Love Island personality Cach Mercer for his Quickstep with partner Maddie Ingoldsby. The judges had criticised him for including excessive freestyle elements while neglecting traditional Quickstep technique.
One viewer said: "F*** the judges. I thought Cach was fantastic. Choreography isn't down to him. But he danced incredibly well." Another accused the panel of favouritism, stating: "So Motsi gushed over Cach doing street in his Quickstep but slated Jaime for not doing the 'fundamentals' in her Tango. Double standards as always with the judges having their favourites."
Will Best's early slot sparks debate
Will Best opened the evening with his Samba and finished near the bottom of the standings, leading some fans to argue that performing first puts contestants at a disadvantage. One viewer remarked: "Sorry but Will Best has been done dirty with his scores after going first with his samba, after seeing some of these scores after him..." Another added: "Truly Will Best increasingly undervoted as these scores come in."
A final fan commented on the overall scoring: "Those dances were good but the higher scores become devalued if given away too soon, it’s week 1 of 13 and they’re already giving 8s? Also the dancers who go earlier in the show are definitely screwed over marks wise as they tend to give higher scores towards the end."
No one faced elimination in the opening round, but scores will be carried forward and combined with week two's results, when the first celebrity will be sent home. Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6.15pm.
