Former Strictly pro Vincent Simone believes contestant Alex Kingston “overmarked” last weekend during Blackpool Week.
The Doctor Who actor, who is paired with Johannes Radebe, performed a couple’s choice to History Repeating by Shirley Bassey and Look At Me by Geri Halliwell.
The pair received good feedback from judges — Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke — who gave high scores.
Craig awarded them an 8. Meanwhile, Motsi, Shirley and Anton Du Beke gave a 9. As a result, Alex and Johannes placed fifth on the leaderboard with a total score of 35.
Strictly star Alex Kingston accused of being ‘overmarked’
Due to La Voix quitting the show following an injury, no one was eliminated on Sunday. However, in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Daily, Vincent stated that Balvinder Sopal would have landed in the bottom two alongside Alex if there was a public vote.
“Technically, Balvinder probably would have stayed, and Alex would have gone,” he told ED! on behalf of Paddy Power.
Vincent, who was a pro dancer on the hit show between 2006 and 2012, also didn’t agree with the judges’ scores for the actress.
“Alex was slightly overmarked, too. I saw something off in the lifts, probably due to her injury. Three 9s felt a bit generous,” he said.
‘The judges were raving about her’
On the other hand, another former pro dancer, Brendan Cole, told ED! that he believes Alex would have been saved in the dance off if there was one.
However, he was in agreement that the bottom two would have likely been between Alex and Balvinder.
“Balvinder Sopal would have gone home – if La Voix hadn’t been injured. The judges were raving about her, and I don’t think it was very good,” Brendan said on behalf of Sky Vegas.
“Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe were quite weak too, so it would have been a dance-off between those two couples, and Balvinder would have gone.”
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing’s Instant Dance Challenge explained and why the celebrities are ‘scared’ of it
Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6.35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, November 29, 2025.
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