Strictly Come Dancing professional Lauren Oakley has responded to a critical social media comment about her celebrity partner Graeme Hall, defending the dog trainer after he was branded "atrocious" in response to a dance video she posted.
Oakley and Hall, known for fronting Channel 5's Dogs Behaving Badly since 2017, are competing in week seven of the 2026 series of the BBC One show. In the Halloween special aired on Saturday night (October 31), the pair performed the samba to Coconut by Harry Nilsson, scoring 25 points.
Hall and Oakley Bottom of Leaderboard
The score left them joint bottom of the leaderboard with Olympic medallist Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita, who also scored 25 for their quickstep to Black Magic by Little Mix. Craig Revel Horwood said Hall and Oakley's routine "needs finessing", while head judge Shirley Ballas told Stoecker and Karmalita the dance "wasn't your best".
Ahead of the show, Oakley shared videos on TikTok of herself and Hall practising moves from their routine. After a comment criticised Hall's dancing, Oakley posted a follow-up video in response.
Oakley's Response to Criticism
In a screengrab of her reply, Oakley wrote: "Hey! My comment stands for every contestant. Ok, thanks for your time." Responding to the original comment, she added: "Ok, choice of words can probably be re-evaluated? Do you have dance experience? If so, you will understand the effort put into what was actually produced.
"If not, you're a sofa critic, and should probably think before typing. I understand freedom of speech and opinion etc. but a bit more grace would go a lot further when commenting on someone's time & effort."
Fans Show Support
Fans responded with messages of support for Oakley and Hall. One wrote: "Imagine writing that about two green people living their best lives dancing to a song about coconuts. He must be very very sad. #teamdogfather." Another said: "So he was actually my favourite and brought loads of joy. Silly keyboard warrior… love Graeme."
A third commented: "Lovely to see you sticking up for your partner & everyone else! It's so daunting to put yourself out there & dance for everyone to see & judge you!" Another added: "Well said!!!! You and Graeme are, and have been from the start, my favourites!!!! You're such an amazing dancer & choreographer."
