Strictly stars Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal have hit back at judge Craig Revel Horwood’s criticism of their recent routine as they appeared on It Takes Two tonight.
Last weekend, Craig called out Pete and Jowita for “totally illegal” lifts in their routine.
Pete and Jowita performed a rumba to Oasis classic Don’t Look Back in Anger last Saturday evening. They scored a total of 22 points out of a possible 40.
Giving his feedback, Craig took issue with the lifts in the routine and insisted it could result in a “disqualification”.
Craig Revel Horwood on Strictly
He told Pete and Jowita: “As for the lifts, that is totally illegal. There were two lifts, one foot should remain on the floor at all times.
“Of course, it’s up to the professional if they want to lose marks for that.
There were two lifts, one foot should remain on the floor at all times.
“And of course, you’ll be marked down for that, and I think even a disqualification darling.”
He then added: “I have an issue with that, because I think you should follow the rules. That being said, it was a little bit uncouth in some places.
“But you know, I do like seeing how committed you are to this, because I can see very clearly that you have been studying and studying and studying to make this good.”
When it came to scoring, Craig gave the couple a four out of 10. Motsi Mabuse gave the pair a five while Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke gave them six and seven.
Viewers fumed over the low score, as one hit out on X: “Pete and Jowita’s rumba was worth more than that score 4 and 5. Pathetic for Craig and Motsi.”
Another wrote on Instagram: “Undermarked in my opinion, improving every week, should be so proud.”
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Appearing on It Takes Two on Thursday (October 24), Pete and Jowita addressed the criticism.
Speaking about putting lifts into the routine, Jowita said: “First of all, it’s just because my legs are too short. That’s why they didn’t reach the floor.
“The truth is we tried it and it was so beautiful and it was all about the feelings.”
Pete then chimed in: “I don’t think you should get any blame for that. As far as I’m concerned, that was the dance so far that I’ve enjoyed the most. I was just dancing as me, rather than trying to remember steps.”
He added: “That’s why we did it because it felt right.”
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