Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has criticised Cach Mercer's Movie Week Samba, claiming the routine was 'way, way over-marked' by the judges.
Cach's performance on October 3 earned him a score of 29, a total James strongly disagreed with. Speaking to the ScreenTime team at Reach Plc via WhichBingo, the ex-pro shared his views on which stars he felt received inflated marks.
'Pretty diabolical' as a Samba
James said: "Cach, way, way over-marked. Didn't even do the dance he was asked to do, in my opinion. With Cach, as a performance, this was fantastic, and if it were in the West End, it would be brilliant."
"As a samba, it was pretty diabolical. He said in the VT that he wanted to get the technique down. Well, unfortunately, mate, it was non-existent."
While James emphasised his fondness for Cach and Alexis, describing the Love Island favourite as 'brilliant', he demanded higher standards when it came to executing the basic elements of the Samba. He added: "Like I said, I love the performance, and people can say I'm being super harsh at home. I am a professional Latin dancer, a Latin expert."
Zero technique and other scores
"There was zero technique in that. And for the judges to go, oh, I think you just created a new dance - well, unfortunately, we weren't supposed to be creating a new dance. You're supposed to be marking a samba. So was it a samba? No, it wasn't."
The former professional dancer, who departed the show more than a decade ago, also felt Delta Goodrem and Graeme Hall received overly generous scores, while he reckons Jaime Winstone and Dani Dyer were harshly undermarked, reports Wales Online.
Public vote and first elimination
Ultimately, Cach escaped the dance-off and was rescued by the public vote to remain in the contest. Nevertheless, Jaime Winstone and Chris Appleton ended up in the bottom two and had to repeat their performances for the judging panel.
Following a unanimous verdict, the judges chose to rescue Jaime, bringing Chris' journey to a close alongside his Strictly professional partner, Amy Dowden. Reflecting on their departure, Amy said at the time: "I know, unfortunately, only too well heartbreak."
"But I also know that the reason it hurts so much is because of the friendship and bond we've formed, and that's something that isn't going anywhere. From the nerves, the laughter and the endless rehearsals to the moments when things felt tough, you gave everything you had."
"You showed such heart, determination and kindness, and it has been an absolute privilege to share this journey with you. Strictly may have brought us together as partners, but I truly believe it has given me a friend for life. Our dancing journey may have ended, but our friendship certainly hasn't."
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday on BBC One from 6:15pm.
