‘What a joke!’ rant Strictly fans as they accuse Anton Du Beke of over-scoring star
STRICTLY Come Dancing came under fire as fans accused judge Anton Du Beke of over-scoring one of the stars.
Saturday’s first live show saw Arsenal legend Paul Merson perform an American Smooth with pro partner Karen Hauer.
Having scored 17 , some viewers believed the judges – particularly Anton – had over-marked the star’s efforts.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one vented: “6?! Anton Du Beke scored Paul Merson more than Sam Quek?! What a joke!!”
Another added: “A 6 for Paul? Are you taking the p**s?”
A third chimed in: “Shirley & Anton giving Paul 5’s and 6’s”.
While a fourth remarked: “Anton scoring Paul Merson higher than Sam Quek is just absolutely ridiculous.”
After performing the Foxtrot, Sam received 6’s from three judges and a 5 from Anton.
Whereas Paul received a 6 from Anton – and 2, 4 and 5 respectively from the remaining panelists.
Prior to revealing his score, Anton showered praise on Paul’s dance in his feedback.
He said: “I’ve done many numbers like this over the years.
“If I was still dancing on the show, I’d be dancing with you. This would be the partnership and this is the number we would do.
“We’re the same person. It’s a magnificent number.”
He added: “I was delighted. Didn’t have to sub him off, came down the stairs unaided. I loved it!
“You were terrific, well done.”
Meanwhile, other stars also had their scores scrutinised by fans on social media.
GoCompare ad star Wynne Evans danced a salsa to Help Yourself by Tom Jones in honour of his Welsh heritage.
The fun comedy routine saw him turned into an all-singing, all-dancing chef, with Wynne later ripping off his kitchen whites to reveal a glittery shirt.
Strictly 2024 Week One Scoreboard
Here's how the first week scoreboard looked:
- JB and Amy = 31
- Tasha and Aljaz = 30
- Sarah and Vito = 30
- Wynne and Katya = 26
- Montell and Johannes = 26
- Shayne and Nancy = 23
- Jamie and Michelle = 23
- Chris and Dianne = 23
- Sam and Nikita = 21
- Dr Punam and Gorka = 19
- Tom and Nadiya = 18
- Nick and Luba = 18
- Pete and Jowita = 17
- Paul and Karen = 17
- Toyah and Neil = 12
Alongside pro partner Katya Jones, the pair received an impressive score of 26/40 – although some viewers were left irritated by this.
One wrote on X: “Wynne was overmarked he wasn’t better than Sam or Shane. Shane and Pete undermarked.”
Another remarked: “Wynne was way overmarked. Just stop.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and iPlayer.