A former Strictly Come Dancing professional questioned whether certain rules have been abandoned as she shared her thoughts on this year’s series
A former Strictly Come Dancing star has hit out at the BBC show’s judging standards, questioning whether the competition’s rules are still being properly enforced. Joanne Clifton, who was a professional dancer on the show from 2014 to 2016, has not shied away from sharing her thoughts on this year’s series so far.
Reflecting on last weekend’s performances, the 42-year-old claimed she had noticed several instances in which Ballroom rules appeared to have been broken.
Speaking on the At Home With Vanessa podcast, she told host Vanessa Feltz: “I think, without sounding like grumpy old Len [Goodman], where’s the rules?
“That’s my big thing, where are the rules? Like literally we had three couples that did illegal lifts, it wasn’t mentioned.
“We had people not in hold, people not doing the content, which was mentioned for two of the couples but then we had a third, which I counted, the Viennese Waltz,” she continued.
“They did less than a third of the music because you can count, one, two, three is one second and they do 90 seconds, they did less than 30 seconds in hold but they got praised for it,” she added.
When Vanessa asked which couple she was referring to, Joanne named Carlos Gu and Jaime Winstone.
However, Joanne, who won the competition alongside Ore Oduba in 2016, was keen to stress that she did not blame the contestants for the apparent inconsistencies.
“I’m not blaming them because, at the end of the day, if the rules have somewhere down the line gone out the window, nobody mentions them anymore.
“If your celebrity isn’t good in hold, I’d do the same, let’s keep them out of hold, no one mentions it, let’s keep them out of hold,” she continued.
Asked to explain the rules surrounding Ballroom routines, Joanne said professional dancers are expected to remain in hold from the moment the music begins, only breaking away for an American Smooth or a Ballroom show dance.
She acknowledged that sticking rigidly to the rules throughout a performance could risk making routines seem “boring”, given that Strictly is primarily an entertainment show.
Nevertheless, Joanne argued that remaining in hold is an important way to demonstrate progress, allowing viewers to see how contestants develop their technique and improve from one week to the next.
Last weekend, 14 couples took to the dance floor, but the competition was reduced to 13 following the departure of Melanie Walters. The Gavin and Stacey star found herself in the bottom two alongside Shaun Wright-Phillips, with the judges divided over which contestant to save.
With the deciding vote, Anton Du Beke ultimately chose to save Shaun, sending Melanie home. The remaining couples will return to the dance floor this weekend to perform as part of Icons Week.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One
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