Strictly Come Dancing 2026 bosses have come under fire from furious fans following last night’s show, with viewers questioning the decision to put Will Best and Dianne Buswell first in the running order.
The pair opened the latest episode with a quickstep to Maroon 5’s This Love. However, their performance wasn’t the only thing getting viewers talking, as some were left baffled by the producers’ decision to have them perform first once again.
Strictly Come Dancing 2026 stars Will and Dianne quickstep
Will and Dianne took to the dancefloor first last night, performing their quickstep in front of the judges.
The routine earned them 29 points out of a possible 40, with Craig Revel Horwood suggesting there were some “slight improvements” to be made, while admitting the pair were incredibly “watchable”.
Anton Du Beke was equally complimentary, telling Will he had “looked so lovely”, while Shirley Ballas described their performance as a “definite improvement”.
“We are heading in the right direction, sir,” she told him.
Craig awarded the pair six points, while Motsi Mabuse gave them eight. Shirley followed with a seven, and Anton rounded things off with another eight.
But it was their position in the running order, rather than their scores, that sparked a backlash online.
Will and Dianne scored 29 points (Credit: BBC)
Strictly fans slam show bosses
Viewers were left questioning why Will and Dianne had been chosen to perform first, marking the second time the couple have opened a show this series.
Their previous appearance in the first slot came during week one, meaning they have now found themselves in the same position twice.
Meanwhile, Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, and Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita have yet to perform first this series.
Taking to social media, one frustrated viewer wrote: “How is Will going first already for the 2nd time? There are people there who have never gone first. Between this and his awful songs, the producers hate him.”
Another fumed: “Will and Dianne dancing first AGAIN when they have already been first and have had the lowest average running order position by a mile is [bleeping] insanity; they have been nothing but screwed over this entire series when others have been highly, highly favoured.”
“Will on first again what???” a third questioned, while another asked: “Haven’t will and Dianne been first already?”
ED! has contacted the BBC for comment.
Craig Revel Horwood slammed
The running order wasn’t the only thing dividing Strictly viewers last night, with Craig also finding himself at the centre of a social media backlash.
The judge was accused by some fans of being considerably harsher with his scores than his fellow panellists, sparking a mixed reaction among viewers.
Craig awarded both Cach and John Nellis just four points, before telling the audience to “shut up” when they responded with boos.
One unhappy viewer posted: “What is wrong with Craig tonight?!!! He’s not being constructive at all; he’s just being a total [bleep].”
Another questioned: “Ok… who urinated in Craig’s cornflakes today? He seems super grumpy tonight.”
A third agreed, writing: “He was in terrible form tonight. Some of those scores were unreasonably low.”
However, not everyone was against the judge, with some viewers welcoming his more critical approach.
“Go on Craig! Yes – at last!!” one fan cheered.
The divided reaction suggests Craig’s scoring certainly gave Strictly fans plenty to debate, with some backing his tough approach while others felt he had gone too far.
Strictly continues tonight (Sunday, November 8) from 7.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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