One star was predicted to make an early exit from Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday evening after the 2024 series’ initial results night – yet, BBC One viewers were shocked to discover one dancer was exempt from elimination.
Sunday’s Strictly results show, steered by the tried-and-tested duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, revealed the couples facing the dance-off on September 29, with the looming prospect of competing in next week’s coveted Movie Week.
Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova weren’t fortunate enough to be saved by the public vote, being the first announced to compete in the anxiety-inducing dance-off. They found themselves up against Toyah Willcox and her partner Neil Jones.
Surprise and displeasure echoed across living rooms as it was realised that another pair had evaded the dance-off, despite a less stellar performance on the Saturday ballroom stage.
Twitter, now rebranded as X, lit up with fans of the hit dancing series voicing their shock and outrage at Paul Merson and Karen Hauer advancing in the contest. Disgruntled viewers aired their sentiments: “#strictly paul was awful last night the worst tbf”.
While another seconded the motion: “#strictly wrong Paul’s not in the dance off he was terrible as much as he’s nice and funny he cant dance! ” Further expressions of agreement followed, “Paul is genuinely funny. I can understand why he was saved despite being a bad dancer lol”, alongside more irate comments: “#Strictly Paul should’ve been in bottom two and should go. He’s the worst by far.”, reports the Mirror.
On Saturday, Paul’s salsa to Pitbull’s Fireball drew attention when judge Craig Revel Horwood made a biting remark about the performance. He implied that alcohol had boosted Paul’s confidence, despite Paul being candid about his previous addiction issues.
The ex-Arsenal star quickly responded: ” I don’t drink.” Craig went on: “It was like a comedy dance at a wedding I’m afraid. It was really not good. Those shunts were terrible.”
One viewer expressed their disapproval on Twitter, calling Craig’s comment to Paul Merson unnecessary. Another asked: “Did Craig really just say he thought the drinks at the barbecue gave Paul Merson confidence. Tactless in the extreme.”
Further criticism came from other fans, with one stating: “Oh gosh not really good of Craig to make a drinks joke to Paul Merson.”
Someone else remarked: “Well that was a massive faux pas on Craig’s behalf. Clearly doesn’t know Paul is an Alcoholic.”
Another person noted: “Bit of a faux pas to talk about drinks at the barbecue to Paul Merson, someone famously sober after years of excessive drinking.”
“Craig’s comment to Paul Merson was in very poor taste. I hope he gets an apology,” another tweet read.
Sunday’s results night saw Tom and Nadiya bow out of the competition. Reflecting on their journey with Tess Daly, Nadiya enthused: “To get to know him, he’s not just a three-time Olympic champion he’s a ‘true’ gentleman and he taught me how to work really hard and how to put everything in. And you know what? On this programme, sometimes to win, you don’t need to win, and that’s how I feel this year.”
The remaining 14 couples are now gearing up for next week’s eagerly anticipated Movie Week Special. Saturday’s show left Toyah and Neil at the bottom of the leaderboard. Despite Anton’s praise for their Jive being ‘1,000 times better’ than their Tango, they only managed to score 30 out of a possible 80 for their two dances.
Ex-footballer Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer weren’t far ahead, scoring 32. Meanwhile, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec wowed everyone with their Viennese Waltz to Rhapsody in Blue, earning them three nines and an eight. This, combined with their score from the previous week, catapulted them to the top of the leaderboard with a total of 65 out of 80.
Hot on their heels were Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, who racked up an impressive combined score of 62.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer