Cach Mercer, the former Love Island star and Strictly Come Dancing favourite, found himself joint bottom of the leaderboard after the halfway show, scoring just 26 out of 40 for his waltz with professional partner Maddie Ingoldsby.
The low score, delivered by judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke, was the joint lowest of the night, matching the total given to YouTuber John Nellis and his partner Katya Jones. Cach appeared visibly upset as he listened to the judges' constructive criticism following the routine.
Fans React to the Scoring
After the show's official Instagram account shared the couple's dance, viewers were quick to voice their frustration in the comments section. One user wrote: "That marking of Craig and Shirley was shameful, no respect and shows appalling bias when compared with how other dancers we're scored."
Another commented: "I am sick to death now of this couple being put down every week, other couples over the yrs have 'added' a bit of a twist or something a bit different in their dances where the judges have loved it? I hope they win this show!"
A third added: "This did NOT deserve a 4 or 6! What is their problem??? Every week they are extremely harsh with this couple, nothing they seem to do is good enough. I love them! Hopefully this doesn't knock his confidence too much, he looked so upset and disappointed." A fourth simply said: "So undermarked I LOVE watching them dance."
Social Media Backlash
Fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, also expressed their anger at the marking. One user posted: "This is genuinely the worst night of scoring I have ever, ever seen on Strictly… what the hell is going on??? Insane over marking, insane under marking, none of the judges agreeing… a complete mess #Strictly"
The scoring leaves Cach facing a potential spot in the dreaded dance off. Last week, Emmerdale star Lawrence Robb left the show following a three-way decider. This week, Jaime Winstone and her professional partner Carlos Gu were forced to withdraw from one performance due to an injury, receiving a bye until next week when she is hoped to return.
