Strictly furore over 'fix' row, near-kiss and silly jokes

True to the motto 'keep dancing', Strictly has continued with its dazzling anniversary series following the recent conclusion of its off-screen investigation into Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington's partnership.

BBC apologised to Abbington, upholding some complaints of verbal bullying but rejecting claims of physical aggression in the rehearsal room. Both the actor and her professional dance partner Pernice, who has joined the Italian version of Dancing With The Stars, were somewhat happy with its findings.

There had been concerns the scandal would overshadow the 2024 series and Strictly faced big changes including the appointment of two welfare officers and hiring chaperones to accompany the couples in the training room.

Yet the 20th anniversary series has faced plenty of backstage drama of its own, even though competition is only just heating up with Saturday's live show marking week five.

Whispers of the Strictly curse is back with a near-kiss on camera, blink and you would miss the moment. There has also been furore from viewers at home over previous dance experience and silly jokes as well as complaints about scoring.

Strictly's Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal's near-kiss

It's true, everyone loves a love story and the Strictly curse has almost become one of the most talked about parts of the BBC show. It sees the dancers and their celebrity partners fall in love with one another, more controversially when they have partners in real life.

From day one Strictly fans made it clear they would love to see Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal get together, both of whom are freely single. What really got people talking was their steamy choreography as Wicks and Przystal have proved they have a close bond off the dancefloor.

For one split second it looked as if Wicks and Przystal could be sharing a passionate kiss on-screen during their romantic American Smooth to I Had Some Help by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, with the whole Strictly audience watching on.

Read more: Strictly

• What really happened with Katya Jones and Wynne Evans on Strictly?

• Gorka Marquez asks Strictly fans to focus on dancing after scandal

• 'Strictly Come Dancing tougher than Celebrity SAS? Pete Wicks must be joking'

Wicks shut down the "passionate kiss" rumours putting it down to the clever tricks of choreography. "It’s been the same narrative for 11 years non-stop," he said on his podcast Staying Relevant which he hosts with his best friend Sam Thompson.

"And yet you wake up on a Sunday morning and it’s stories that haven’t even happened. For example, during the choreography, there’s a story been going around for two weeks saying me and Jowita kissed during the dance… Everyone watched it on TV. They called it a “passionate kiss”, it’s the choreography, and we didn’t."

Watch the moment Wicks and Jowita nearly kissed during their American Smooth below.

Silly jokes sparking furore

It's not the only thing people are talking about though. Katya Jones and Wynne Evans' silly jokes have put the couple in the firing line this week.

After uproar from fans over Jones moving Evans hand that was sliding across her waist on Saturday night's show, it's reported that BBC's welfare team checked in with the pairing who have said it was all part of a silly joke.

There was also concern over the moment Jones refused to high-five Evans during the same live programme, with the couple also saying this was a joke.

It has been reported the BBC has no further action planned. Evans told of his heartbreak over the backlash, telling BBC Wales: "I'm absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day."

Jones insisted critics had got it wrong when she appeared on the Strictly spin-off show. She said: "I have to make this absolutely clear that the whole incident with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes."

Watch the moment Katya Jones moved Wynne Evans' hand on Strictly below.

Strictly fix row

Tasha Ghouri has also found herself at the centre of "fix" headlines over her previous dance experience which suggests she has an advantage because she has commercial dance training.

The Love Island star has proved she's gifted at dance and been topping the leaderboard, making a fabulous start to the show with her Cha Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter with partner Aljaz Skorjanec in week one.

It sparked a backlash online from viewers who claimed she already had experience with commercial dance. Ghouri hasn't shied away from her commercial dance strengths but she pointed out she has not learned Ballroom and Latin routines.

However, a TV insider revealed there are no rules about dancing experience on the show and it's never a secret about what a star has done in the past.

An insider told Yahoo: "There is no rule that celebrities cannot have dance experience before taking part and it would be near impossible to find a cast of celebrities who have no previous dance experience as many people in the entertainment industry go to stage school.

"They have never been trained in Ballroom or Latin and have not tried to hide their dancing experience, but it is not remotely similar to what they will be required to learn for the show."

Ahead of the show's launch, she said: "Commercial dance is very different to ballroom dance and latin, I’m still having to strip down and relearn, even walking in cha cha step is weird to me."

As the competition gets fiercer, previous Strictly contestant and pop star Alexandra Burke defended Ghouri in the "fix" debate. Burke had starred on Strictly herself in 2017 alongside Gorka Marquez.

She told The Sun: "Tasha's not had Latin and Ballroom dancing. I got that negative response, but I'd never had Latin and Ballroom dance experience. So actually let her live and let her live her best life, because she's having the most amazing time most likely."

Strictly scoring controversy

Complaints about the scoring, or undermarking, have also been rolling in on social media. Viewers were outraged over Chris McCausland receiving a 6 for his Salsa with pro dancer Dianne Buswell to Men At Work's Down Under.

Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood was booed by fans when he handed the couple a six after calling the performance a "bonza" which is the Australian word for excellent. However, Buswell and McCausland shrugged off any drama over the marks.

Social media was awash with complaints from fans saying the couple had been "undermarked" and It Takes Two host Fleur East addressed it on the spin-off show.

Buswell said: "I screamed for excitement with the six. Do you know what it is for me, I always think because it felt so good. I honestly said to to Chris, hand on heart, if we had gotten a a four or a three from Craig, I still would have been happy, because if it didn't feel good, then I'd be upset. But because it felt so good and I was so happy with how we did it, for me, the feeling is worth more than any score."

McCausland said: "This is absolute rubbish. Nonsense. I said the kangaroo hops was more important than the first tens, but a six or a seven is definitely more important than feeling good."

It's not the only backstage story the blind comedian has been caught up in this series as last week there was a backlash over Toyah Willcox saying: "If you don’t wanna do a dance off, get rid of Chris!"

However, McCausland defended Willcox saying: "She's been nothing but lovely. She genuinely said to me when she went out and we all cuddled on the dancefloor, she went, 'You are going to win this.'"