Strictly pro Karen Hauer was “fuming” on last weekend’s show, according to a former professional dancer.
Brendan Cole has shared his thoughts on the week two dances and feedback from the judges. He said he doesn’t know how Karen “held herself back” when the judges gave their feedback.
Meanwhile, he also hit out at the judges’ for their feedback to Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.
Karen is paired with Eddie Kadi on the show and last weekend they performed a Cha-Cha.
Karen Hauer on Strictly
Speaking to ED! about who could leave this coming weekend, Brendan said: “It’s got to be Nikita [Kanda] going next. That was pretty average. I think she got a bit of praise for it, but it was fairly out of time [and] didn’t look particularly good.
“It’s the same with Eddie Kadi’s Cha-Cha. Seeing Karen [Hauer] at the end – I don’t know how she held herself back but she was fuming. She’s a fiery character is Karen, and the judges were laying into the Cha-Cha.”
The pro dancer added: “I think they were right in what they were saying, I can’t disagree with them. Now she’s got to pick it back up because [Eddie] got absolutely slammed.
“I don’t know how mentally strong he is – the few comedians I know can take things to heart. So, she might spend two or three days picking him up off the floor, to get them back into whatever dance he’s going to be doing.”
Brendan Cole on Strictly week two
Elsewhere, Brendan also shared his thoughts on another Strictly couple – Ellie and Vito. Following their Foxtrot, Brendan said it was more of an American Smooth.
He told us: “[Ellie and Vito’s dance] was completely an American Smooth and there was very little Foxtrot about it, apart from a few Foxtrot steps thrown in the middle. [The judges] didn’t really pick up on it.
“Craig [Revel Horwood] alluded to it by saying, ‘Well, I’m not sure that was entirely a Foxtrot, perhaps a little bit more American smooth, but I’m going to let that go because it was a lovely number’. You can’t let it go, because this is a competition and if you let it go for them, you’ve got to let it go for everybody.”
What else has Brendan said?
He continued: “That really annoys me because it’s not [the judges’] job to go, ‘it doesn’t matter’, it’s [their] job to say, ‘Actually it does matter. I love the number; I’m going to give you a few marks for the number because I loved it.’
“‘However, you didn’t follow the rules, and therefore, I’m going to take a couple of marks off and you need to know that you can’t do it again because ultimately, nobody else is doing it or if they do, they’re going to be penalised as well’. The BBC has to step in and go, ‘this is not acceptable’.
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“I certainly wouldn’t want [to see that] as a competitor, watching Vito and Ellie doing [that dance] and then seeing the judges’ reaction and given the score [they had], I’d have been backstage upset.”
Strictly continues this Saturday (October 7) from 6.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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