Strictly Come Dancing enthusiasts said goodbye to another contestant as football pundit Paul Merson was eliminated from the competition on Sunday evening. The departure followed a tense dance-off against JLS’s JB Gill.
The sight of JB in the bottom two came as a surprise to many, given his decent judges’ score of 30. Yet, it wasn’t just the scores causing a stir as former Strictly professional Ola Jordan has been quite vocal with her opinions.
Partnering with Mecca Bingo for commentary, Ola didn’t mince words about the latest episode. Recall last week’s shock when Shayne Ward faced Nick Knowles in the dance-off, prompting viewers to keenly observe Shayne’s comeback performance.
Despite the anticipation, Ola expressed disappointment with Shayne’s routine, stating bluntly: “I didn’t like Shayne’s dance.”
She continued with criticism, puzzled by the judges’ accolades: “I don’t understand why they all praised him so much. It’s almost like because he was in the bottom two last week, they all had to praise him and how amazing was and I didn’t think he was that amazing.”
Ola pointed out technical flaws that went unmentioned: “He had a bad posture, not great arms but no one mentioned that. He got a really good score but, in my opinion, he was overmarked.”
Shayne, dancing with Nancy Xu, received mixed scores from the panel, including one seven and three eights for their American Smootha, a result Ola clearly contested, reports Birmingham Live.
She remarked: “That’s the only person that I didn’t agree with this weekend. It’s almost like they couldn’t say a bad thing because he was in the bottom two last week, like let’s save him from the bottom two. It was a bit like he was protected.”
Shayne’s performance placed him seventh on the leaderboard with a score of 31, nudging ahead of JB. However, BBC Strictly viewers were treated to some near-perfect performances, as Jamie Borthwick and Montell Douglas both scored impressive 39s for their dances.
At the opposite end, Paul languished at the base of the leaderboard with a mere 19 points for his dance number. Reflecting on his journey, he commented: “It’s been really good.”
He encouraged others, saying, “For anybody I talk to, I would say you’ve got to go on this show. It’s amazing – everybody. There’s a Tottenham fan over there called Lincoln and even he’s nice!”
When discussing his experience dancing with Karen, Paul praised: “It’s been amazing, honestly, amazing. I loved every minute of it, I’ve had a great teacher. She’s been amazing, absolutely amazing and I couldn’t wish for a better coach. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
He expressed his newfound confidence, stating: “I can dance now – I’ve won because I can dance, I couldn’t dance before and I can half dance now. It’s a bonus, absolute bonus.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday on BBC One from 6:25pm.