Craig Revel Horwood appeared to reveal his true feelings after Shirley Ballas chose to save Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby over Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu on Strictly Come Dancing. During the latest results show, Bethany and Nancy found themselves in the bottom two alongside Cach and Maddie, leaving Shirley with a difficult decision on who to save.
On Saturday night, the House of the Dragon actress and Nancy performed the Foxtrot to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis. They ended the night in fourth place on the leaderboard after the judges awarded them 30 points out of 40. Meanwhile, Love Island star Cach and Maddie ended up joint bottom of the leaderboard with John Nellis and Katya Jones, after their Waltz to That Ain't You by Mulaa Joans failed to impress the judges, earning them just 26 points out of 40.
Judges Split Over Dance-Off
After the dance-off, Craig and Motsi Mabuse saved Bethany and Nancy. Anton Du Beke opted to save Cach and Maddie, leaving Shirley with the casting vote. As Shirley chose to save Cach and Maddie, Bethany and Nancy were eliminated.
However, her decision to send Bethany and Nancy home appeared to leave Craig struggling to hide his reaction, with body language expert Judi James analysing what his gestures revealed.
Expert Analysis of Reactions
“The judges’ scores are getting increasingly diverse and erratic this year though and the vote that saw Bethany leave last night threw up a visual display of what might be growing frustration in their ranks,” she told the Daily Express on behalf of Paddy Power.
“Motsi and Craig voted to keep Bethany in, and they were forceful about why. Craig performed an emphatic head baton as he spoke and Motsi called their dance ‘One of the best dances of the night, number one in my book’.
“But Shirley’s casting vote saw Bethany voted off the show. Shirley’s body language suggested even she was uncomfortable with this result. She carefully read her comments from her ‘list’ she had been making to de-personalise them, rather than calling it eye-to-eye,” Judi continued.
Fans Notice Craig's Response
Highlighting Craig's reaction to Shirley's bombshell vote, Judi said their poses “suggested active dissent”. “Motsi looked away from Shirley with her eyes looking sideways, either glancing at Craig or at someone in the audience,” she added. “Craig had lost his usual upright posture and slumped back and down in his seat. His lips appeared to purse in a gesture of disapproval, and he also appeared to let out a resigned sigh.”
Fans appeared to pick up on Craig's response to Bethany's exit when he was interviewed by Tyler West and Abi Clarke on the show's spin-off series, Strictly: Lights Up. One commented: “I also thought the judges chat was interesting. Even though Craig masked it as a bit of a joke in the end, I felt like he was genuinely annoyed that Bethany was voted off.”
“Yes absolutely! That’s what I noticed too. He said it in a joking manner but he fully meant it. He truly wanted Bethany to stay,” agreed a second. A third claimed: “The bit I noticed was Craig saying he was fuming! And honestly I believe it. In that dance off, Bethany was the stronger dancer by far!”
