Oti Mabuse has shared her thoughts on the new presenting team of Strictly Come Dancing, including criticism aimed at Johannes Radebe. The former professional dancer, who appeared on the show from 2015 to 2021, responded to a listener's complaint on The Fifth Judge podcast, which she presents with her husband and fellow dancer Marius Iepure.
The listener said Johannes could not always be heard clearly over the clapping and cheering of the live audience. "Jojo was drowned out as he started talking as the contestants were walking up the stairs. So he needs to wake a little bit [so we can hear him]," they complained.
Oti's response to the audio issue
Oti concurred with the observation, stating: "I thought the same thing. There were moments where people are coming up the stairs, they're clapping, and then Jojo starts speaking, and I'm like, what did he say? I don't understand."
Nevertheless, Oti added that the issue probably rested with the programme's production crew rather than with Johannes himself, if he had been cued to begin the link.
Defence of contestant Cach Mercer
Another viewer, named Francine, defended contestant Cach Mercer, stating: "I don't think they should have criticised Cach. He didn't choreograph the dance and he did amazing with what he was taught."
"That's a very good point, Francine," Oti responded. "They criticised him for what he was showing, but that wasn't his fault. That's such a good point. You shouldn't mock something when it's the pro who actually did the choreography."
Behind-the-scenes insights
Oti continued by revealing that during her stint on the programme, she largely disregarded the judging panel's feedback: "As a pro, I used to sit at the back and I would zone out. I would zone out and I would say to my celeb, the judges don't give you the score. I give you the score. You spent five days with me. I will tell you your score. These four [judges] came in for a Saturday roast. They got their hair and makeup done. You listen to me. If that was good, I'll tell you if it was good..."
She acknowledged that she would regularly take issue with the judges' assessments of her work. Despite the criticisms directed at the reformatted programme, Oti declared she found the launch of the beloved BBC dance competition's 24th series "fantastic."
She also provided viewers with behind-the-scenes details about the programme's organisation. Responding to a question about whether couples are assigned specific dances, Oti explained: "How it works is, production sit down with you at the beginning of the series and they go 'These are your three dances, these are your three songs. These are your three concepts. They cannot be changed. You have no choice. You have to dance with them.' After that, if you make it past week three, we can negotiate. We can discuss. You can bring in your ideas if we like them. We could not like them or we could like them for another couple."
