Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips has admitted she was less than impressed with some of the scoring in Saturday night’s live show.
More specifically, she’s taken issue with head judge Shirley Ballas for dishing out a 10 to more than one contestant.
Pop singer HRVY opened the most recent live show, with Shirley uttering the immortal line “it’s never too early for a 10 from Shirley” after he’d completed his Salsa routine.
Later in the show, Shirley was also seen reaching for her number 10 paddle for comedian Bill Bailey and radio presenter Clara Amfo, the latter of whom bagged the highest score of the series with 39 of a possible 40 points for her Charleston.
After the show, Arlene retweeted a message from one viewer who wrote: “Shirley - ‘It’s never too early for a 10’… YES, it is WAY TOO EARLY (and you gave 3)”
Arlene added: “Seriously. Some awkward footwork. Does it matter anymore?”
The former judge also retweeted another comment suggesting the show “needs a new judge”, to which she joked: “I could send out a search party!”
Arlene served as a Strictly judge for six years, until she was replaced by former winner Alesha Dixon, sparking an ageism row at the time.
In the years since, Arlene has made no secret of her hopes to return to the show, most notably when Len Goodman stepped down as head judge in 2016.
This weekend saw professional dancer Anton Du Beke taking a seat on the judging panel for the first time, filling in for Motsi Mabuse, who is self-isolating after an “urgent” trip to Germany last week.