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Strictly Come Dancing viewers have again been stumped by comments from the judges about contestant Pete Wicks, who again struggled with a routine, despite being down to the last six in the competition.
The 36-year-old, best known for his time on The Only Way Is Essex, has been a polarising figure on this year’s show, having routinely survived the public votes, even though he has often received the lowest scores.
This happened again on the 30 November show, when he and his partner, Jowita Przystał, scored just 26 for their Waltz, to “Somewhere” from West Side Story.
Although the score itself didn’t annoy fans, the comments from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke, appeared to infuriate a small contingent, who felt they could have been harsher with their criticism.
“What is going on with these judges?” one viewer asked. “Pete went wrong, the footwork was shoddy but apparently it didn’t bother Craig and the judges are literally fawning over him”
“We’re almost at the semi-finals stage and the judges are still pandering to Pete’s inability to learn a dance routine,” noted a second fan.
A third noted: “Why do the judges never wanna dwell on Pete‘s mistakes but will go on and on about others who are actually good dancers.”
Others picked up on the criticism that was aimed at the likes of Chris McCausland, who was berated for minor problems in his performance.
“The judges need a wake up call. They used their time with Chris to berate him for a slightly low elbow instead of commending the REMARKABLE job he and Di are doing. Pete messes up the whole routine and they fall over themselves to make him feel better about it,” said one fan.
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Some were a bit more diplomatic, and defended Pete while criticising the judges.
One person said: “The judges always over score certain people, yet Chris and Pete, being non-dancers have improved so much since the beginning and yet get marked so poorly! This is so fixed.”
The TOWIE star, who has received backlash for making it to the quarter-finals of the show despite finishing last on the judge’s leaderboard, opened up about the threats he received on his Staying Relevant podcast on 23 November.
The reality star discussed his time on the dance show with his professional partner Przystal, who was standing in for his co-host Sam Thompson, who is currently in Australia.
Pete said: “Since Strictly, there have been some real crackers.
“Someone actually wished death upon me on the dance floor the other day.”
