Strictly judges blasted as complaints pour in over ‘annoying’ scoring and ’embarrassing’ behaviour

Hard-to-please viewers didn’t like their dancing, their comments or their scoring!

Tonight’s Strictly semi-final (December 13) saw complaints pour in as the judges marked the four remaining couples in what was Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s penultimate live show.

The stars – Balvinder Sopal, Amber Davies, Karen Carney and George Clarke – were fighting for a chance in next weekend’s final.

However, as the paddles came out, the complaints unfortunately poured in…
Anton Du Beke is usually a fan favourite, but not after his scores and comments tonight (Credit: BBC)

Strictly judges criticised

After Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke danced their way to their seats, the show began, with Balvinder Sopal up first with her Salsa.

The judges loved it, gushing over the EastEnders star’s routine, but viewers watching at home questioned if they were watching the same dance as the judges…

Craig gave it an 8, while the other three judges awarded a 9.
Craig Revel Horwood was the only one viewers seemed to see eye-to-eye with (Credit: BBC)
Next was Amber Davies. She performed a stunning Tango, but Shirley and Anton said they weren’t blown away. Craig and Motsi loved it, awarding a 9 and a 10 respectively. But despite the critical comments towards Amber, Shirley and Anton both gave her a 9.

Karen Carney was next, with Anton and Shirley both getting choked up as they spoke about her elegance during her Waltz. George Clarke then stepped up with a sizzling Samba that had Shirley on her feet and scoring a 9.

But the OTT behaviour from the judges – starting with Anton faux-forgetting the routine at the top of the show and continuing as Anton and Shirley became emotional while offering critiques – was quickly called out. As were their scores, which some thought came as a bit of a mismatch with their comments.
Motsi Mabuse got her 10 paddle out early tonight (Credit: BBC)

‘I’m questioning the integrity of Strictly right now’

“[Bleep] off Shirley and Anton. Amber was so much better than Balvinder. It’s pathetic how you needed to be picky with her but not Bal,” said one. Another agreed: “How can that dance be marked the same as Balvinder!!!! I’m questioning the integrity of Strictly right now.”

A third commented: “Bit poor really that the scoring has gone so downhill.” “So Amber gets more critique in her performance from half the panel yet gets a better score than Bal?” another posted.

“I am so annoyed at these scores,” said another. “This might be the dullest semi-final ever. And the scores are nonsense,” another added. “So dull… might not even watch the final,” another declared.

The Strictly leaderboard

After all four couples danced their two routines, the semi-final leaderboard was shared.

At the top, sits Karen and Carlos with 78. Amber and Nikita are next with 77. George and Alexis sit in third with 72 points. And Bal and Julian are in fourth place with 70 points.