Strictly Come Dancing fans were left bemoaning the second week of live shows as Shirley Ballas kicked the show off with an 'awkward' moment.
The hit BBC ballroom show returned for its second week live on Saturday evening, as the celebrities sashayed onto the dance floor with their professional partners once again.
The 20th series of Strictly is once again being hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, with Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke returning as judges.
The 15 Strictly couples took to the dancefloor for their second performances in front of the judges – with their fate in the public’s hands.
However, as the hosts hit the ballroom floor, they turned to Shirley to get her read on the second live show - only for the star to leave a prolonged awkward pause as if she had zoned out of the live occasion.
Immediately noticing the cringe-inducing moment, one fan tweeted: “Yoohoo! Wake up Shirley."
A second wrote: “Shirley not sure where she is there," as another said: "Well that wasn’t awkward."
“Shirley’s delayed response is me 24/7,” another fan joked. "Shirley is me when anyone asks me anything in group meetings," a fellow fan chimed.
One savage viewer asked: "Has Shirley been at the sherry?"
While there was no public vote last week, the pressure is now on to get their steps right as the phone lines are open after the show for fans to vote for their favourite routines.
The contestants' scores from last week have been carried over to this weekend and will be combined with the viewers' votes, with the lowest scoring couples going head to head in the first dance off of 2022.
The first results show of the series starts on Sunday 2 October at 7.15pm, beginning after the Antiques Roadshow.
The two couples with the fewest votes then go head-to-head in the dance-off, delivering another rendition of their performance from the live show.
The judges then decide which couple they would like to save, and in the event of a tie head judge Shirley Ballas is given the casting vote.
None of the duos will want to be the first to leave, but one of them will be waltzing off into the sunset when the results are announced tomorrow evening.
Saturday’s live show followed last Friday's launch show, where the 2022 line-up of stars were officially paired up.
The launch was followed by Saturday's first live show, in which actor Will Mellor and wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin topped the leaderboard after impressive debut routines.
The Strictly spin-off It Takes Two is also back on screens, hosted by Rylan Clark and former professional dancer Janette Manrara.
* Strictly Come Dancing returns live at 6:30pm on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
