James Cracknell has left fans in stitches after debuting his slightly stiff dance moves on Saturday night's Strictly, marking his first live performance with partner Luba Mushtuk. Fans flocked to Twitter to comment on his performance, with one user writing: "James Cracknell's dance had my housemate in hysterics." Another viewer even went so far as to say: "Oh dear lol, James was terrible. Awful posture, bad footwork and he barely moved around the floor. Worst yet I think. But hopefully, he can improve!"
It seems the judges weren't too pleased with James' performance either. Craig Revel Horwood quipped: "Your posture is your main concern. You’re meant to be forming a V shape, in fact, you were hunched over. On top of that, your bottom was sticking way out. It lacked any sharp moves. It was very lethargic I'm afraid."
James and Luba have been practicing hard
Next, it was Motsi's turn to assess the pair's performance, and she told James and Luba: "I just think you need to let us in a bit. I do understand that you're an athlete and you come mostly from sport, and you don't have to entertain anybody, but I think everybody wants to have fun with you. So just open up, look at the people. Have fun with it. Be involved." Thankfully. Shirley Ballas had kinder words: "James, there's no mistaking that this needs some work. I'm sure you’ve inspired so many men at home to go out and find a dance studio."
MORE: Strictly's James Cracknell desperate to reach week number four for this special reason
James and Luba tackled the Tango
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Let's hope his moves don't stop James from reaching week four of the competition. Earlier in September, the athlete revealed he's desperate to reach the one month mark for a very special reason - it's his eldest child's 16th birthday! The double-Olympic gold medallist hopes that if he makes it that far his son will come and watch him dance live on his birthday, telling HELLO! and other journalists: "My girlfriend has gone 'well, I would ask for a ticket but you won't be in long enough!' That's what the assumption is. So folks will go and watch week one, but… my oldest is sixteen on the fourth week and you have to be sixteen to go so it's a kind of – it would be nice."
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