Strictly Come Dancing fans took to social media during Saturday's live show (November 7) to criticise the judges for handing out what they described as "inconsistent scores" as the competition passed its halfway mark. Hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe presented the show, with judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke scoring the couples.
Fans question Craig's low scores
Viewers at home noted that Craig's marks for most dancers were significantly lower than those of his fellow judges, while Anton appeared the most generous. Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley performed a Couple's Choice to The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel, earning 28 points: five from Craig, eight from Motsi, seven from Shirley and eight from Anton.
YouTuber John Nellis and pro partner Katya Jones received a low four from Craig, sevens from Motsi and Shirley, and an eight from Anton, giving them a total of 26. Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby were also given four by Craig, with eights from Motsi and Anton and a six from Shirley, also totalling 26 and landing them joint last on the week seven leaderboard.
Leaderboard toppers and viewer reaction
Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin topped the leaderboard with 36 points after receiving an eight from Anton, a 10 from Motsi, and nines from Shirley and Anton. Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita placed second with 33 points after their Paso Doble to Muse's Supermassive Black Hole, scoring seven from Craig, nine from Motsi, eight from Shirley and nine from Anton.
Strictly viewers turned to X to complain about the scoring. One person wrote: "A 4 and an 8!? The judges' scoring is absolutely atrocious tonight," while another said: "I'm sorry, but the scoring tonight makes NO SENSE. #strictly." A third added: "There's no continuity with the judging scores. They're all over the place. #Strictly."
Others echoed the sentiment, with one viewer asking: "Why are the judges' scores so varied tonight? Going from a 6 to a 9 is crazy #Strictly," and another exclaiming: "WHAT IS WITH THESE SCORES?!?! A 4 and an 8 for the same dance?? #Strictly." One fan noted: "Every dance has had at least 3 different scores from the judges so far! #Strictly."
Some praise for Tabby and Mark
However, not all reaction was negative. Some viewers were impressed by the scores given to Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita, with one writing: "#strictly great scores," and another adding: "Some decent scores, at last! #Tabby #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing #SCD." One viewer defended Craig, saying: "#Strictly This may be an unpopular opinion, but I agree with Craig's scores. He is consistent and doesn't get carried away. The other three are all over the place. Some favourites are being over mark."
The week seven leaderboard also saw Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington on 31, Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola and Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu on 30, and Will Best and Dianne Buswell on 29. Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu were absent due to medical advice. The results show airs Sunday at 7:10pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
