Strictly scoring row: Do judges have favourites and how do they score?

Strictly Come Dancing has faced a row over whether the judges have favourites, raising questions on how the scoring really works.

Favourites row

Head judge Shirley Ballas gave Eddie Kadi the first ten of the series this weekend and it got everyone talking in the showbiz world about whether it really is too early for a ten?

Kadi and his partner Karen Hauer had performed a street-inspired dance for movie’s week while dressed as the Men In Black.

The Couple's Choice dance gives them the freedom to move away from the traditional dance routines and hopefully showcase the star’s best moves.

Ballas praised the dance, saying: "When you do something well, it needs rewarding. This was slick, it had style, it was edgy, it was entertaining, you found your groove.

"Everything that you love in dance you were able to bring today as a partnership, I absolutely loved it."

Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, who is dancing with Layton Williams, couldn’t hide his disbelief on Saturday night when Ballas waved the ten paddle.

Instantaneously this moment sparked conversation on social media and among former professionals about whether the judges have favourites and how does the scoring on Strictly really work?

Responding to the scoring

Social media was awash with comments, saying: "Nikita’s reaction to a 10 from Shirley is literally the nation’s reaction too."

"Sorry Shirley but Bobby deserved a 10 over Eddie. No way was that a 10!"

"Absolutely no way was that a 10. Is it ever too early for a 10 from Shirley? Yes. No way was it a 10."

"Can’t believe Shirley giving a 10 for that dance, unreal."

James Jordan, who appeared as a professional dancer on the show between 2006 and 2013, weighed in on the row as he shared his thoughts on X — formerly known as Twitter.

After Kadi’s performance, he wrote: "I like him - I liked his cha cha just lacked technique. This week no technique needed so suited them better. BUT for me - ITS NOT STRICTLY. If he impresses me with one of the 10 proper Ballroom and Latin dances I’ll be impressed."

Elsewhere, former show professional Brendan Cole, who appeared on the first 15 series of Strictly, claimed the scoring from the judges in general was "wrong" this series.

Speaking at the Pride of Britain red carpet, Cole told The Mirror: "No I think they are off the chart wrong. The way the judges are performing at the moment, I think I’m watching two different shows. For me you have to be critical, you have to be encouraging.

"Also if somebody does a bad number, you can’t just give it a high mark and go ‘well I loved it, it was beautiful’ because ultimately if you give somebody a high number and somebody else goes home over them by you giving them a lower number, just with the way the maths works out, you’re doing an injustice to the show. So I’ve got a lot of critique for the judges."

Do the judges have favourites?

Ballas has also been accused of being sexist for "undermarking" the women contestants by fans of the show. This weekend she gave Angela Scanlon an eight while the other judges scored her a nine.

However, Ballas hit back at the criticism saying the studio audience are sexist towards both her and fellow judge Motsi Mabuse.

Ballas told Times Radio: "It’s always a little bit… if I give a five you hear the boos, if Anton gives a five he gets a clap. It tends to be me and Motsi too, if we give a lower score.

"Maybe what people don’t understand is that the show can’t run one second over and I get 20 seconds to say my piece.

"So let’s say my darling Anton runs over, I get five seconds, but if everyone has 20 seconds then I can give you some bullet points."

Professional dancer Neil Jones, who recently became a dad, threw his support behind Ballas over her scoring.

He told The Sun: "Shirley is a professional. I’ve known her for years and she’s so sweet. I would always say that if people can’t see that, then that is the fault of the audience.

"She has a job to judge and while we’re there to dance and entertain, Shirley is there to give her professional opinion."

He added: "A dance might be stunning, but if you’ve got the wrong footwork then Shirley’s job is to point that out."

Are couples safe on judges’ votes alone?

The BBC stated: "No couple is guaranteed to be safe on judges' votes alone however, and the viewers' votes can always influence the outcome.

"This means each week any couple can face or be saved from the dance off with the public vote. In the event of a tie, the viewers' votes will take precedence over the judges' scoring."

If there is a tie, BBC said the viewers’ votes take precedence over the judges’ thoughts.

How does the scoring work?

Strictly’s scoring works by combining the judges and the viewers votes.

BBC explains in a statement on the website: "On the shows where the judges’ scores are combined with the public vote, a leader board will be displayed ranking all the couples by total score, highest at the top. These ranks are converted into points, with the highest scoring couple ranked first receiving a number of points equal to the number of couples.

"For example the couple with the highest combined judges scores when only 6 couples are left competing will receive 6 points, the second placed couple will receive 5 points and so on.

"When there are couples with the same rank (they all received the same combined scores from the judges) they all receive the same points based on that rank and the next lower scoring couple receive points equivalent to that score minus 1. For example for the 6 couples remaining, there are three joint second place couples. Those 3 couples will receive 5 points. The fifth placed couple will receive 4 points and the couple at the bottom of the leader board will receive 3 points.

"The Public vote is independently verified once it has closed and the ranking of the couples by public vote is created by points allocated to each couple in the same way as for the judges’ scores. Ties are dealt with in the same way. The points from the judges’ scores and the public vote are added together and a new combined ranking created.

"In the event of a tie in the combined ranking the number of public votes for each couple will resolve the tie (the couples will be placed in order of the public votes received – highest first).

"In the very unlikely event that there is a tie in the judges' scores and the public vote, the scores from Head Judge Shirley Ballas will resolve the tie (the couples will be placed in order of the scores received From Shirley – highest first). In the extremely unlikely event of a tie remaining, Shirley will have final decision on breaking the tie."

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday.

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