Strictly Come Dancing viewers have criticised Craig Revel Horwood after he called out "illegal lifts" in Dani Dyer's latest performance, arguing the same rule has not been applied to other couples this series.
The BBC One dance contest reached its eighth week on Saturday night (November 14), with the nine remaining couples competing for a place in the show's annual Blackpool special.
Leaderboard Bottom Three
Professional dog trainer Graeme Hall and his partner Lauren Oakley were first out on the night with their Quickstep to Happy Days!, but by the end of the show they sat at the bottom of the latest leaderboard.
They were joined by Big Brother host Will Best and Dianne Buswell, as well as EastEnders star Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola, after their Paso Doble and Foxtrot left them in a three-way tie on 27 points out of a possible 40.
Craig's Criticism of Dani and Nikita
One of the most controversial moments came after Dani's Paso Doble to Everybody Wants to Rule the World. She and partner Nikita Kuzmin scored 30, but in his feedback Craig told the pro he was "taking the mick" with his choreography and said the routine was "littered with illegal lifts".
Nikita responded simply: "Fair enough." But fans were not impressed, believing Dani was then "criminally" undermarked and pointing out that other illegal moves have appeared throughout the series.
Fans Point to Inconsistent Judging
@ultimatesugg wrote: "Judges remembering there shouldn't be lifts in the 10 dances? I fully thought they've decided to do whatever these days since they haven't said anything the last 2 series lol #Strictly."
@slinehan1 commented: "Is Craig serious?? I agree about illegal lifts being a rule but SO SO many routines this year have had lifts that shouldn't have been there and the judges have said absolutely nothing. It can't be one rule for Dani & Nikita and another for the other couples. #Strictly."
@TVMusings26 wrote: "Why we picking on certain celebs for doing illegal lifts and not others! #Strictly." @tallmartinh shared: "I've lost count of the illegal lifts they've let go so far this series. Maybe it was the number. But seems a bit unfair to suddenly raise them now. As a dance, I loved it! Dani has really blossomed."
@cymb3lina noted: "Wait i thought the judges gave up on calling out illegal lifts yonks ago... not that i mind but it seems a bit strange to call them out now when the last two series have been littered with them #Strictly." @paradiseieah added: "I literally don’t care about illegal lifts when several couples have done them this season without a single mention. the judging has been all over the place this season so they need to make their minds up on what they’re willing to let go #Strictly."
