Strictly judge Anton du Beke grits his teeth
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Strictly Come Dancing fans concerned for Anton du Beke following dance off

Viewers were bewildered

Strictly Come Dancing viewers expressed concerns for Anton du Beke following the dance off in Saturday (December 3) evening’s show.

Kym Marsh and Graziano di Prima missed out on a spot in next Sunday’s (December 11) semi-finals after being pitted against Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.

Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas all opted to save Molly and send Kym home.

But Anton backed Kym and Graziano – leaving fans stumped.

Strictly stars Molly Rainford and Kym Marsh receive Anton judgment
Strictly stars Molly Rainford and Kym Marsh receive Anton’s comments (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

Strictly surprise from Anton du Beke

Before head judge Shirley gave her view and casting vote, Anton surprised viewers by opening up the possibility of a Molly departure after Craig and Motsi had selected her to stay.

Anton reflected on the Musical Week dance off performances: “As you’d expect at this time in the competition, this late stage, the quality of the dancing was incredible.

“I thought both couples danced brilliantly but I felt that one couple raised their game.

“There was a sort of freedom they didn’t have on Friday night.

“So based completely and solely on that one dance, I’d like to save Kym and Graziano.”

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Strictly judge Anton du Beke looks downwards
Anton saw ‘freedom’ in Kym’s performance (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

How Strictly fans reacted to Anton

Kym and Graziano both looked grateful for Anton’s support.

However, it wasn’t enough to prevent them being eliminated from the BBC One dance contest.

But for some viewers, the result was never in doubt – even if Kym had made an impressive comeback from a bout of COVID.

Is Anton genuinely okay?

One person wondered on social media: “#Strictly is Anton genuinely okay? Kym was good but Molly was 100x better.”

Someone else echoed that: “What is wrong with Anton? #Strictly.”

And a third also said: “Anton saving Kym was quite strange when Molly was quite obviously better #Strictly.”

Strictly star Molly Rainford looks sad
Molly Rainford looks emotional as she awaits Anton’s verdict (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

‘What was Anton watching?’

Others asked whether they and Anton had been observing the same dance off.

“What was Anton watching? #Strictly,” one Twitter user wrote, adding a rolling eyes emoji to their post.

While someone else jibed: “#Strictly Anton did you like forget your glasses? Anyone could see she gave no energy.”

However, it wasn’t the first time Anton confused viewers during the show.

Strictly judge Anton du Beke raises a palm
Anton went in deep on Will’s footwork (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

In an earlier segment, he deconstructed the footwork of Will Mellor‘s foxtrot. But it seems his analysis may have been a bit long-winded for some.

“Anton getting all technical there… #Strictly,” one viewer tweeted, including two sweating emojis.

“Thanks Anton. That makes it so clear! Not #Strictly,” another said sarcastically.

And someone else, joking about Motsi’s expression at the time, added: “Motsi would like those two minutes of her life back, Sir.”

Read more: Strictly Come Dancing fans call for Oti Mabuse to return full-time following surprise appearance

The Strictly Come Dancing semi-final airs on BBC One, Sunday December 11, at 7.15pm.

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer