Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood criticised Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin's Paso Doble on Saturday night (November 14), telling the couple they were "taking the mick" after spotting multiple "illegal lifts" in their routine.
The couple performed to Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Lorde in the so-called "death slot" during the show, which saw the remaining celebrities compete for a place at Blackpool Tower next week.
Craig's Feedback on the Dance
Giving his verdict, Revel Horwood said: "Listen, that could have been absolutely fantastic that dance, but it was littered with illegal lifts. I mean, we've let some go on the show but honestly you're taking the mick, darling with literally four massive lifts in that."
He added: "One foot should remain on the floor at all times is the rule and you know that. So I had to mark you down."
Judges' Scores and Fan Reactions
Revel Horwood awarded the couple six points, while the other judges each gave them eight, leaving Dani and Nikita with a total of 30 points.
Strictly fans were divided over the feedback on social media. On X, @z33dee wrote: "craig calling out the illegal lifts is a massive slay on his part. but poor danni and nikita".
@miss_traceydav commented: "People weren't listening to Craig as he clearly said he had let some illegal lifts go up to now - I think he has basically now warned the pros to stop bending the rules from here on in".
@alasssmith questioned: "I though Dani and Nikita's dance was brilliant. As for complaining about illegal lifts, plenty of that goes on in this show, so why raise it now?"
The criticism came after last weekend's elimination of actress Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu, who had landed in the dance-off for the third time. Earlier in the night, Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley's Quickstep also received criticism after several mistakes in their routine.
