Exclusive – Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Robin Windsor suggests format change as he says judging is based on “personal preference”
Windsor said judges have a "tough job".
As the Strictly Come Dancing final draws nearer, it's anyone's bet who will claim the Glitterball this year – though the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard is currently topped by Maisie Smith.
This series has been different from previous editions, with a sparse live audience and a shorter run.
As a result, judges have really had their work cut out and, as always, some scores have prompted more backlash than others.
Former Strictly pro Robin Windsor, who left the series in 2014, has weighed in on the judging process, stating that, ultimately, it's as simple as "personal preference".
"I guess the thing is, with ballroom dancing or any kind of dance that is competitive, it all comes down to personal opinion because it's not a race to see who can cross the finish line first," he told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview.
"And are you looking for technique or are you looking for performance?" he added. "Some judges are looking more at the technical side, others are looking more at the performance side. So it comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.
"Which is why it's such a tough job for the judges, especially when it comes down to Shirley [Ballas] having that deciding vote. It comes down to her own personal preference really, and it depends exactly what that person is looking for."
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So, does he think the format of Strictly should change to make the judging process smoother?
"I think, for me, if something's not broken it doesn't need to be fixed," he said, "but if I had to make one choice, it would be to put Couple's Choice at the quarter-final stage, and get everyone to do two dances there so they could do a couple's choice and another dance."
Elaborating on the issue he has with the Couple's Choice routines, Robin added: "I think [doing Couple's Choice in the quarter-finals] would have made it easier, especially with it being shorter this year.
"There were so many dances to choose from, I feel like we've perhaps been neglected from some of the other ballroom dances. We’re missing one Rumba and a couple of other ballroom dances this year and I’d perhaps liked to have seen some more of the traditional ballroom.
"It’s harder to judge a Couples’ Choice dance against a ballroom [or] latin dance."
Robin Windsor is set to star in Here Come The Boys with Aljaz Skorjanec, Graziano di Prima and Pasha Kovalev. The Strictly Come Dancing final airs Saturday 19th December at 6pm on BBC One. Check out what else is on with our TV Guide, or take a look at our new TV shows 2020 page to find out what's airing this autumn and beyond.
