Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor has hit out at the judges over their scoring amid his recent illness.
Last week, Will had struggled with rehearsals due to being cut down by a flu virus.
As a result, he claimed to have only been able to practice his dance for about five hours.
Will has now revealed that he was shocked when the judges failed to take his circumstances into consideration when judging him last weekend.
The judges came under fire from viewers for the points they awarded to Will – with Craig Revel Horwood dishing out just four points.
Shirley Ballas meanwhile gave him five, and Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke both awarded Will seven.
Will Mellor criticises Strictly judges
“I’d only trained for about five hours that week because I’d been in bed with the full-on flu virus. I was in a bad way. The judges knew. But they just decided not to mention it or take it into consideration,” Will told the PA news agency.
“I was a bit annoyed by it, to be honest. I was struggling, and when you’re that way you feel a bit sorry for yourself, and when I got the scores I was a bit, ‘After all that…?!’. So I got a four from Craig [Revel Horwood], but that’s just the way it is. They have to judge it as they see it, and that’s up to them.”
Will added that, in retrospect, he probably should have taken the week off.
In the past, some contestants have been given the opportunity to return to the dancefloor after taking a weekend off.
He said: “Maybe I shouldn’t have [danced], because the judges slagged me off – I should’ve just left it!”
‘More determined’
Will admitted it’s “hard taking criticism when you’re not feeling great”.
However, he said he “wanted to dance” and it was his decision despite being offered the week off.
Will also insisted that he didn’t want to come across that “I’m complaining about the judges’ scoring” as that’s “part of the competition”.
I was in a bad way. The judges knew. But they just decided not to mention it or take it into consideration.
Will also said his low score has made him “more determined this week to get it right” ahead of his Viennese Waltz performance this Saturday.
Thankfully, Will is also now feeling a lot better.
He told his followers on Instagram earlier this week: “I’m so glad to be feeling better! Happy Monday people! Go and grab it! #positivevibes #happymonday #freshstart.”
Read more: Strictly viewers slam judges for ‘harsh’ scoring of Will Mellor as he breaks silence
Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday October 22 on BBC One at 6.40pm.
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