Gorka Marquez embroiled in 'undermark' row as BBC Strictly fans spot 'unfair' trend with scores

Gorka Marquez and Punam Krishan

Gorka Marquez and Punam Krishan were scored 18 for their Foxtrot

BBC
Lauren Williams

By Lauren Williams


Published: 01/10/2024

- 17:10

The couple performed the Foxtrot on Saturday night but many fans felt they were severely undermarked

Gorka Marquez has been left inundated with fan support as they claimed he and partner Punam Krishan were severely undermarked for a second week in a row - despite receiving positive comments from the judges.

The couple performed the Foxtrot to Man! I Feel Like A Woman! by Shania Twain and received a total score of 18 from the judges - with Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas awarding a four, whilst Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke awarded a five.


The week before the couple scored a total of 19 from the judges for their Cha Cha to Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue - with fans once again feeling they were marked down.

Giving their critiques, Mabuse kicked off and said: "We got up close and personal so we could really feel the intention, the performance, and you kept it up, all of those solo parts I absolutely love it, the sass, the styling of it all.

"All the partner stuff, all the ballroom stuff, I do feel like you did not do so badly. All I want to say is if we want to move on, the first thing that we learn is your posture. I think that kind of let you down because of everything else you have got."

Ballas agreed and added: "There are two parts to you, if I take you from the waist up, I probably think you are one of the strongest dynamic personalities in the competition so that is a start, sometimes people just are flat, you have that in abundance.

"When we go downstairs, you started off on your first heel turn 50 feet apart, the feet weren't tracking, the feet were flat. The upper half is a really high score, but if we take the lower half... I have to meet in the middle."

Du Beke added he thought her partner work with Marquez was "floppy", leaving Horwood to agree but note that she "really nailed the characterisation, well done."

Fans of the show were left outraged by the scores and commented underneath the official Instagram clip of their dance, as one user commented: "Incredibly undermarked, how can Shirley and Anton see Paul and Karen’s dance as worthy of the same points as this?"

"100% agree with you, I thought she did really well and deserved a higher score than she was given" another added before a third penned: "I get cross every week with the scoring! I think they forget what they've given others or just make it up as they go along."

Gorka Marquez and Punam Krishan

Fans claimed they were undermarked for a second week in a row

BBC

Someone else agreed: "You are left wondering how these judges score - do they not keep note of what they've been scoring all night? It's as if they'd never adjudicated a competition in their lives!"

"Just like last week the marks don’t reflect how they danced," another annoyed fan fumed, leaving a sixth to write: "The judge's lack of impartiality and blatant favouritism spoiled my viewing tonight. Punam and Gorka were undermarked."

The fan's comments come after Krishan was given odds of 2/1 of being eliminated from the competition this weekend, alongside Toyah Willcox who faced the dance-off this weekend and will need to pull out all the stops for Movie Week to be in with a chance of making it through to week five.

Betfred’s Kayley Cornelius revealed: "After narrowly escaping the dance-off, Toyah Willcox is once again betting market favourite to be next eliminated, priced at 1/2.

Gorka Marquez and Punam Krishan

The couple scored 19 for their Cha Cha last week

BBC

"While her timing saved her and means she’s allowed to dance another week, she still sits in a worrying place as she's situated at the bottom of the leaderboard and has a long way to go.

"It's clear she’s far behind her peers in terms of skill, so she’ll need to make a major turnaround by next Sunday if she wants to stay competitive."

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