Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu dancing the America Smooth on Strictly Come Dancing © Guy Levy,BBC

Strictly viewers issue same complaint after Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu's dance

The couple were awarded 28 points for their American Smooth

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
October 22, 2023
Share this:

Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu took to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom floor on Saturday night with a stunning American Smooth, earning them 28 points from the judges.  

Their performance went down a storm with viewers, who felt the judges were a little harsh with their comments and took to social media to complain. 

Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu dancing the America Smooth on Strictly Come Dancing © Guy Levy
Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu danced the America Smooth on Saturday

While Shirley Ballas said the couple were "delightful to watch", she added there was "no breath in the upper half of the body".

"Some nice footwork here and there one or two mistakes over here on the left. But other than that, another really turned in performance for you," she said. 

Meanwhile, Anton Du Beke told the couple they were a "joy to watch" but needed more "softness" in their performance. 

Motsi Mabuse agreed and advised Angela to "let the music give you expression".

Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu on Strictly Come Dancing© Guy Levy
Fans felt the judges' comments were a little harsh

Craig Revel Horwood, on the other hand, was a little more harsh. "The clue to this dance is in the name American Smooth and smooth it wasn't unfortunately," he said. "It just lacked grace. I have to say, I felt like you'd run out of ideas at the end. I don't think it's your best."

Fans were a little surprised at the judges' comments and took to social media to praise Angela's performance. One person wrote: "Honestly, what were the judges watching. As far as I'm concerned, that was a fabulous dance from Angela S," while another added: "Feel like they were a bit harsh on Angela S #Strictly."

MORE: Krishnan Guru-Murthy sends fans wild with his Strictly quickstep – while rarely-seen son Jay watches on

SEE: Strictly's Tess Daly looks like a Grecian goddess in fitted sequin dress - see photo

A third person commented: "The judges' criticisms of Angela S and Carlos surprised me, I thought it was really lovely!" while another added: "I think today has been the weirdest marking I've seen in a while tbh… But I am 100% voting for Angela S. The comments were ridiculously harsh #strictly."

Strictly week 4 Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu
Angela has impressed viewers with her improvement over the past few weeks

Other viewers couldn't help but comment on the judges marking throughout Saturday's programme, with some feeling it was inconsistent. 

One person wrote: "The marking is all over the place tonight #Strictly," while another added: "I'm getting really bored of Anton over marking everybody!"

A third fan commented: "Craig and Anton need to sort out their marking #strictly," while another tweeted: "Stop. the. over. marking!!!! Jeeeez #Strictly."

Saturday night's show saw 11 couples take to the dance floor to keep their place in the competition. 

Sadly, Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice were forced to pull out for "medical reasons" but will be back in next week's show.

Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington © BBC
Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington were forced to pull out of this week's show

So, what happened on Saturday night? 

WATCH: Vito Coppola kisses Ellie Leach after redemptive performance

Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin topped the leaderboard once again after being awarded 39 points for their incredible salsa to Quimbara by Johnny Pacheco and Celia Cruz. 

Meanwhile, Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer found themselves at the bottom with the lowest score of 24 points for their samba to Calm Down by Rema featuring Selena Gomez. 

Karen Hauer & Eddie Kadi on Strictly Come Dancing © Guy Levy
Karen Hauer and Eddie Kadi landed the bottom spot on the leaderboard

For a full breakdown of what happened in week five, read our blog.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more