Strictly Come Dancing 2026 judge Craig Revel Horwood has sparked a backlash after taking aim at Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin’s Paso Doble, with the pair losing valuable points over a series of illegal lifts.
The judge awarded the couple six points, making his feelings about their choreography perfectly clear after their latest performance.
Craig didn’t hold back as he told the pair: “Honestly, you’re taking the mick, darling; there were four massive lifts in that.”
Lifts are prohibited in the Paso Doble, meaning Dani must keep at least one foot on the floor during supported moves.
Dani and Nikita under fire
Dani and Nikita took to the dancefloor with a Paso Doble to Lorde’s cover of the Tears For Fears classic Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
But despite their efforts, Craig was far from impressed when it came to the choreography, making sure the couple knew exactly what he thought had gone wrong.
“That could have been absolutely fantastic, but it was littered with illegal lifts,” he said.
“We’ve let some go before, but honestly you’re taking the mick, darling; there were four massive lifts in that.”
Dani and Nikita finished with 30 points overall, receiving eights from the other judges.
However, Craig’s scoring decision did not go down well with everyone watching at home, with several viewers questioning whether the couple had been treated fairly.
Fans slam Craig
Taking to X, viewers were quick to share their frustration over the marks Dani received.
“Dani was CRIMINALLY undermarked! #Strictly,” one fan said.
“Craig scoring Dani the same as Graeme is a travesty,” another wrote.
A third viewer questioned why the rules appeared to be applied differently to different couples, writing: “Is Craig serious?? I agree about illegal lifts being a rule, but SO SO many routines this year have had lifts that shouldn’t have been there, and the judges have said absolutely nothing. It can’t be one rule for Dani & Nikita and another for the other couples.”
Others felt Craig should have directed his criticism towards Nikita rather than Dani, given his role in putting the routine together.
“I don’t really like how Craig directed the illegal lifts comments at Dani when Nikita choreoed the dance,” another viewer added.
However, not everyone thought the judge was being unfair, with some viewers backing his decision to deduct points.
“As Craig said, they let the odd illegal lift go, but Dani had 4 illegal lifts. That’s why he docked her points.”
How has Dani Dyer scored on Strictly Come Dancing?
Dani and Nikita have had a mixed run of scores throughout the competition so far, with their latest performance following a promising run of results.
Their first live dance was a samba to Zara Larsson’s Lush Life, which earned them 22 points on September 26.
They followed that with a Movie Week foxtrot to Beauty and the Beast, scoring 23 points.
For Icons Week, the pair took on a rumba to Mariah Carey’s Hero, collecting 25 points from the judges.
A subsequent salsa saw their score climb to 31 points, before their American Smooth earned an impressive 36 points and sent them to the top of the leaderboard.
However, their latest Paso Doble proved a more difficult outing for Dani and Nikita, with Craig’s criticism and the resulting six points raising questions about whether they can maintain their position among the competition’s leading couples.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight, Sunday, November 15, at 7.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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