Strictly fans react to "strange marking" as Anton gives "harsh comments" - and a 9
Some viewers thought there was a discrepancy between Anton's feedback and his score for Molly Rainford.
Viewers have reacted to "strange marking" on this week's episode of Strictly Come Dancing – after Anton Du Beke awarded Molly Rainford a 9 despite giving her harsh comments.
Although Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse had both been very impressed by Molly and Carlos Gu's Argentine Tango to Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, Anton and Craig Revel Horwood were less enthusiastic with their initial feedback.
"This particular dance lacks a little bit of intensity in order to make it an absolute showstopper," Anton said, prompting some boos from the audience, although he did later clarify that he "loved" the performance.
Meanwhile, Craig said, "I felt like you were dancing two different dances, I felt like you weren't actually following. Getting in and out of the lifts was really, really ugly – you need to make that a lot more beautiful."
When the time came to give the scores, Craig opted for a 6, whereas Anton – despite his earlier reservations – awarded a 9, the same mark as both Shirley and Motsi had given.
This led some viewers to comment on the discrepancy, with one fan writing on Twitter: "Strange marking tonight. After Anton’s criticism of Molly and seemingly words from Shirley he gives her a 9!"
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"You can see Molly worked so hard this week, Craig and Anton’s comments were a bit harsh," added another, while a third said, "I'm not sure how Anton's comments for Molly translated to a 9..."
Meanwhile, one fan commented "Molly has been overmarked by Motsi, Shirley and Anton, especially when Anton slagging off Molly's dance then giving her a 9. Like what the hell Anton?" and another remarked, "I do really like Molly, but Anton's comments about a lack of intensity (which I agreed with) and then giving a 9?!"
In the end, Molly's total of 33 puts her in fifth place on the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard – two places better of than last week – as she looks to avoid landing in the dreaded dance-off for the second consecutive week.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Catch up now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
