Strictly Come Dancing viewers have called for Craig Revel-Horwood to be removed from the judging panel after his marks during the latest show were significantly lower than those given by his fellow judges.
Craig's scores for a majority of the dancers drew criticism from the audience, who booed him heavily after his comments to John Nellis and Katya Jones. He gave the couple a 4, while Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke awarded them two 7s and an 8.
Viewers react to Craig's marks
Craig also gave Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola a 6 for their Rumba, while the other judges scored them 7, 8, and 9. Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu received a 6 from Craig for their Foxtrot, with the other marks significantly higher, and the same applied to Graeme Hall's Couple Choice.
After being booed, Craig glared at the audience before telling them to “Shut up”. Viewers took to social media to express their frustration, with one writing: “Craig needs to go, it really is getting old his undermarking.”
Social media backlash and support
Another viewer fumed: “CAN WE JUST PLEASE HAVE #MOTSI AND #ANTON AS JUDGES IN THE NEXT SERIES PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!! Sack #Craig and #Shirley !!!!!! This can’t go on!!!!!”
A third chimed in: “Craig, please get your act together. You’re making me side with Shirley.” A fourth swiped: “Craig ignoring the technical elements for to play pantomime villain tonight? Interesting, darling.” A fifth asked: “What’s up with Craig tonight? A six for Lacey was harsh.”
However, other viewers agreed with Craig, with one saying: “Stop booing Craig... He's right about John.” A second agreed: “I agree with Craig about John. Ploddy. Very ploddy.”
Opening performance repeats
Meanwhile, viewers were left unhappy as Dianne Buswell and Will Best were the first to perform during the show, which was the second time during the series. The couple also opened the first live show of the series on Saturday, September 26.
