New Strictly Come Dancing professional Maddie Ingoldsby has responded to the judges' "harsh" remarks following her debut ballroom performance with celebrity partner Cach Mercer. Love Island winner Cach stepped onto the dance floor with Maddie on Saturday evening (September 26), performing a Quickstep to Bruno Mars' popular track I Just Might.
While the audience embraced the routine, the judging panel were less enthusiastic, as they felt that the dance departed too significantly from traditional Quickstep technique. Craig Revel Horwood commented: "Too much freestyle for me. You're a great freestyle dancer, that is a fact, we know that. We don't need to see that here in a Quickstep. The whole point of this is that you're learning a new genre of dance, so I'm finding it hard to judge that," reports Wales Online.
Judges' critique sparks backlash
Shirley Ballas concurred, stating: "This was more what we would see in a street dance, which is coming, you're gonna get that." The critique prompted criticism from audiences, who considered the remarks excessively "harsh" for the opening week.
Just days following their score of 20 points for the performance, newly appointed professional dancer Maddie has finally spoken out regarding the judges' observations. The dancer addressed the criticism during Tuesday's episode of Strictly: It Takes Two (September 29).
Maddie defends her choreography
Presenter Ellie Taylor asked: "On Saturday, Maddie, you were chucked in at the deep end. You got a lot of heat from Craig about your Quickstep choreography, which I absolutely loved. Do you still stand by it? Do you wish you'd done things differently?"
Maddie responded: "You know, I think because it was the first week as well, and, like I said on Saturday, when we were at the rehearsals, [Cach] would just stand in the corner and just freestyle. And I was watching it and was like, 'He's musically incredible, he's amazing.'"
"And I think because that's the way that he expresses himself, that's how he feels when he dances. I think it was such a lovely way to introduce him and for the audience to see who he is and what he originally does for himself."
"I also think the freestyle that he does is so incredibly amazing, it's so hard as well. I don't think it's a little TikTok dance, I think it takes a lot of built up courage. It comes really from the soul as well. I'm very happy that I got the audience to really see Cach for who he was in the first week."
Fans were quick to voice their opinions on X, with one viewer writing: "Loved that explanation from Maddie as to why she let Cach freestyle on Saturday."
Craig explains his low score
Earlier in the programme, Craig Revel Horwood shed light on his decision to award such a low score for the routine. He told Ellie Taylor: "I wanted to see just a little bit more in hold and I think once you've mastered that, then you have the capacity [to] break away from it. But I would really, on the first show, really like to see the technique."
He went on to say: "I am in favour of people breaking the rules, in fact, I encourage it, darling. But you do actually have to get the steps right first, the style right first, before you then go and change it. [Cach] is immaculate. I personally loved, loved, loved the routine, and I encourage that sort of stuff further on in the competition. He's a wonderfully talented dancer and he's brilliant."
Strictly Come Dancing and Strictly: It Takes Two are both available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
