Strictly Come Dancing professional Jowita Przystał has defended her partner Lawrence Robb after their jive routine received just 19 points from judges on Saturday night's live show. Speaking on It Takes Two, she praised the Emmerdale actor for not giving up after a mid-performance mistake.
Low Score for Jive Routine
The duo danced a jive to a medley of Fatboy Slim's The Rockafeller Skank and The Knack's My Sharona, but the panel was unimpressed. Craig Revel Horwood declared the routine "wasn't for me" and branded it "flat-footed and out-of-time". Shirley Ballas observed: "You can't be making too many mistakes, but some good things in there, so be proud."
Jowita's Reaction to the Hiccup
On Wednesday (October 28), Jowita appeared on It Takes Two with presenter Ellie Taylor. She said: "I think he [Lawrence] executed it very well. Yes, we had a tiny little hiccup there. But for me, the most important thing is that he didn't give up."
Jowita added: "And I didn't even notice when we were dancing. So, for me, it's a massive improvement and step up, because normally, in the training room, when he makes a mistake, he just freezes and he doesn't continue."
She continued: "Seeing him, pretending, like, nothing happened, nothing readable on his face, he kept going to the end with the energy, with the fun, for me, I'm actually happy that this happened. Because also it proved him that no matter what, he can still do it, he can keep going. And it's live TV, it's so stressful. He's dancing, he's out of his comfort zone every week, learning new dance, uh, for the first time ever."
Viewer Reactions
Supporters last weekend voiced their disappointment over Lawrence's marks, arguing they were "ridiculously harsh". On X, one viewer posted: "just me that didn't think Lawrence was THAT bad? ?". Another commented: "That was ridiculously harsh on Lawrence." A third remarked: "I genuinely didn't see that mistake Lawrence did? Am I blind?"
However, a different Strictly watcher observed: "100% respect that Lawrence is really trying and giving his all. That jive wasn't great though - it's fitting the clocks are going back tonight because his kicks and flicks were in a different time zone to Jowita's."
Strictly Come Dancing airs every weekend on BBC One and iPlayer.
