There are a hundred things we love about Strictly, but, in the end, it’s all about the numbers.
Yes, the scores from the judges are the most important thing to each and every celebrity and dancer on the show, so it’s no surprise they sometimes cause controversy.
Week five of the competition saw dances ranging from a Gene Kelly Charleston to a Stevie Wonder quickstep, and, with Bruno Tonioli causing controversy of his own by his absence due to ‘work commitments’, the stage was set for fireworks.
Read More: The truth behind Bruno Tonioli’s absence!
Viewers had to wait until dance number 10 to see Joe McFadden and Katya Jones perform a Paso Doble to Diablo Rojo by Rodrigo y Gabriela, with Joe showing off his newly- shaved chest in a revealing bolero jacket.
He certainly inspired Shirley, who said: “I think that was the best male paso doble we’ve seen on Strictly so far.”
She followed up that high praise by awarding the couple a 10, making them only the second couple to hit those heights after Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez last week.
However, Craig Revel- Horwood only deemed it worthy of a seven, while Darcey Bussell went for a nine.
Of course, that kind of wide-ranging scoring led to some disagreement, and viewers were quick to suggest it was too high a score.
It all left Joe and Katya with a score of 26 (from a possible maximum of 30 rather than 40 this week thanks to Bruno’s break).
Next up was Alexandra and Gorka, who danced the Samba to Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran.
It was pretty amazing stuff from the pair who have been favourites so far, but with scores of seven from Craig and eights from both Darcey and Shirley, those viewers were quick to voice their disgust.
Viewers were also quick to compare Joe and Alexandra’s scores, highlighting what they saw as a lack of consistency from the judges.
Those scores left Alexandra and Gorka with 23, placing them into the lower half of the leader board, just above Davood and Nadiya but below Jonnie and Oti.
Read More: Shirley makes another embarrassing gaffe on Strictly!
Spare a thought for Shirley though, who must have thought fans would be pleased to see full marks. Nothing gets missed on Strictly!