Strictly Come Dancing fans fumed over one judge's comment as the third live show got under way.
Angry viewers of the BBC One Latin and Ballroom show took to Twitter to vent over a comment Anton du Beke made as the show kicked off. J
ust a few dances in, Kym Marsh and her professional partner Graziano di Prima took to the floor to perform their Charleston to If My Friends Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity.
However, annoyed fans of the show felt judge Anton's comment was unnecessary as he heaped praise on the dance and issued her a high score of nine out of a possible 10. The other judges scored a 7, 9 and 8, making a total of 33 out of 40.
"Best dance of the series, what is Anton on it wasn’t even the best dance of the night #Strictly," one wrote, as another added: "9 is a bit much. Even 8 is pushing it for me honestly. I just wasn't feeling that dance. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing."
A third penned: " #Strictly 9’s? At this rate they’ll have to be scoring over 10 when they get really good."
Others took issue with Shirley Ballas scoring it the same as Richie and Giovanni's dance, which she heaped praise on as some accused her of overmarking. One penned: "Shirley gave Kym the same score as Timon and fucking Pumbaa #Strictly."
It's not the first time frustrated fans took to social media to complain about the show. Last week, annoyed viewers fumed just moments in after Shirley Ballas made an awkward gaffe as she admitted she nearly missed the opening.
As the four judges - Shirley, Motsi Mabuse, Anton du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood - danced across the floor to open the show, they headed towards their seats just as the music started to end.
Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were already in position and ready to kick off the show, but when Tess turned to speak to Shirley, she seemed confused as she stumbled over her words when asked a question.
Immediately noticing the moment, one fan tweeted: "Yoohoo! Wake up Shirley," whilst another added: "Shirley not sure where she is." A third shared: "Well that wasn’t awkward," as Shirley laughed off the blunder and insisted this was proof it was live television.
Strictly is now three weeks into its 20th series, with Anton taking his place on the judging panel full time after Bruno Tonioli stepped down. Bruno had been absent from the last series, as he lives in the United States and it was impossible for him to fly back and forth amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Of being a judge, Anton said: "I'm loving it. I do watch some of the pros and get a bit of dance envy, thinking, 'I wish I could have been a part of that'. But judging is so much easier on the knees.
"My favourite thing about the show is the joy it brings everybody, the joy it brings my family and the joy it brings me. I love that feeling of lifting everybody up, which I think was highlighted through lockdown. I can't believe, well I can, it has been going for so long and we have a new audience coming every year."
*Strictly Come Dancing returns on Sunday at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
