Some Strictly Come Dancing fans were up in arms over what they deemed an “unfair” decision during Saturday night’s live final. The controversy arose as the four remaining couples, including Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, and Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, were tasked with performing three routines.
Before they could showcase their show dance, they had to complete two other dances for the judges and viewers at home. However, eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that two of the pairings were chosen to perform a Couple’s Choice routine as one of their three performances.
The Couple’s Choice allows pairs to pick a dance style not typically featured on the show, which they can do once during the series. In the final, the judges select one routine for each couple, the dancers choose another, and then all perform a show dance.
But it was the judges’ decision to have Tasha and Chris repeat their previous Couple’s Choice routines, a choice not made by the dancers themselves. This prompted some viewers to voice their concerns about fairness during the live final, reports the Mirror.
Many Strictly Come Dancing fans expressed their concerns that this type of dance might not be suitable for the final. They argued it could be too similar to the show dance and highlighted that other contestants had to perform more challenging and complex routines.
Debate ignited on social media where viewers insisted for fairness, either all couples should have performed a Couple’s Choice dance or none should have. Venturing onto platform X, disgruntled fans aired their grievances that such a feature “did not belong” in the final stage of the competition.
One viewer noted: “Ooooo! Should we be allowing couples to do their couple’s choice again in the final? Doesn’t seem fair if they aren’t all doing them.” In agreement, another posted: “I’ve always said a Couples Choice should never be a judges choice because it’s a similar rule for the show dance.”
Adding to the debate, a third observer commented: “Chris and Tasha should’ve had one Latin and one ballroom dance each to make it fair.”
Echoing this sentiment, yet another fan remarked: “Tasha was brilliant as ever – but couples choice does not belong in the final when they’ve got their show dance to do later on.”
The stream of comments continued with one stating: “Not sure couples choice should be allowed in the final,” while another viewer echoed: “Couples choice shouldn’t be being done on the final when you’re doing a show dance later on.”
In the end, it was Chris and Dianne who were announced as the winners of this year’s series. Speaking about his triumph, Chris said: “It’s astonishing, I don’t know what to say. I thought I would go out in the first week or two. We have lasted and lasted and she has got so much out of me, she deserves this so much.
“This is for her and for everyone out there who thought… who got told they couldn’t do something or thought they couldn’t do it. With opportunity and support and determination anything can happen.”
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.