Your support helps us to tell the story
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been left “distracted” over an “awful” blunder on the BBC series.
The competition continued this weekend with movie night, which saw “the right choice” of celebrity being eliminated after last week’s upset.
As the stars performed, with Punam Krishan receiving particular praise for her historic performance and Love Island star Tasha Ghouri topping the leaderboard once again, some couldn’t help but notice a filming mistake taking place behind head judge Shirley Ballas, who repeatedly gave her comments without realising what was going on.
Whenever the camera cut to Ballas, due to the lighting in the studio, two pairs of audience members’ dangling legs could be seen positioned either side of her, with viewers complaining that it looked like they were sat in a toilet cubicle.
“Rather unfortunate positioning of two audience members on Strictly Come Dancing tonight,” one viewer complained, adding: “Looks like the loo door has been left open.”
Others expressed their frustration in the comments section on X/Twitter, with one adding: “I’m glad it wasn’t just me: annoyed me all evening!!!”
An additional viewer wrote: “I noticed that too. Thought it was awful’...’Was very distracting!,” while someone else chimed in: “My husband thought it was the Halloween show and that this was some bizarre set decoration.”
Another described the detail as being in “poor taste” and asked the BBC to retroactively “fix” it so the legs were scrubbed from the episode on iPlayer.
However, many saw the funny side and replied with a variety of laughing emojis, with one quipping the detail was inadvertent “toilet humour”.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
This week’s dance-off saw singer Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones take on former football pro Paul Merson and Karen Hauer, with all judges voting to save Merson from elimination.
Wilcox said of her departure from the show: “It’s been the best two months of my life, it has been fantastic. I have enjoyed every second.”
Jones praised his celebrity partner, stating: “She has made me laugh so much, I have never seen someone work so hard – I’m the one asking for breaks every now and then. She just kept going; she wanted to learn so much.”
“If you saw her in the hallway, she’s been practicing. Everyone’s been telling me, ‘Have you seen Toyah practicing?’ She’s brilliant and she’s what Strictly is all about, and I’ve loved every moment.”
The remaining 13 couples will take to the dancefloor next week, as Strictly return on Saturday (12 October) with the results show following the night after (13 October).
