Shirley Ballas has sparked quite the debate among Strictly Come Dancing viewers following her latest feedback to actor Lewis Cope.
On Saturday night, the Emmerdale actor and his dance partner, Katya Jones, who bagged the first score of 40 last week with their Halloween-inspired routine, took to the floor to take on a Cha-Cha in the hopes they could secure another perfect result.
And they were first up in the billing, kicking the show off with a bang thanks to their performance to the sound of Pete Rodriguez's I Like It Like That.
The pair were all smiles after pulling off the routine before joining Tess Daly to hear what Ms Ballas and fellow judges Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse had to say.
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BBC Strictly: Shirley Ballas was particularly pleased with Lewis Cope's routine
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Inevitably, the praise was pretty unanimous, although Ms Ballas was certainly one of the more enthusiastic on the panel.
Putting on a squeaky voice, the 65-year-old jokingly gestured: "Baby, I like it like that!"
Applause erupted in the ballroom, before Ms Ballas took a more serious approach for the rest of her feedback: "We're halfway in the competition, I write myself a little list. I go from the feet, I work up the leg action, I have a look at the hip action, the flexibility, the fluidity, the cheeky Cha-Cha chart, the accents...
"And the choreography, for me, was so well balanced. You did a grand job. I thought you did very, very well."
BBC Strictly: Lewis Cope and Katya Jones received an impressive 35 points
|BBC
Mr Cope and Ms Jones looked overjoyed with the reception, and after hearing what the rest of the judges had to say, they made their way to join Claudia Winkleman to hear their scores.
While they failed to hit the heights of Halloween Week, the duo still bagged a huge score of 35, with nines coming from Ms Mabuse, Mr Du Beke, and Ms Ballas. Mr Revel Horwood opted for an eight.
Strictly fans at home appeared to echo the positive reception to the routine, with several using social media to sing Mr Cope's praises.
However, it's safe to say others were more concerned with the way Ms Ballas delivered her remarks to the 30-year-old. "Shirley I'm going to vomit x #Strictly," one fan brutally put on X.
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BBC Strictly: Lewis Cope and Katya Jones spoke with Tess Daly after the routine
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"Shirley please. Just don’t. Not tonight. #Strictly," a second weighed in before a third said: "JESUS CHRIST SHIRLEY SHUT UUUUUUPPPPP #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing."
"Shirley REALLY likes him, doesn't she? #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing," a fourth mocked before a fifth echoed: "This is a 65-year-old woman. There's cougar and then there's Shirley Ballas #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly."
A sixth fumed: "So double standards. If Anton du Beke said what Shirley Ballas said about a female celebrity, there'd be thousands of complaints and Anton probably be suspended. Doesn’t matter if it’s a woman, it’s still not professional #StrictlyComeDancing #strictly #strictly2025."
"Shirley is an embarrassment...... #strictly," a seventh savagely put, while an eighth concurred: "So Shirley Ballas can be overly aggressive and flirting to the points it’s embarrassing but if Anton and Craig did it be uproar. Have some dignity Shirley #StrictlyComeDancing #StrictlyComeDancing #strictly #strictly2025 #strictlycomedancing2025." (sic)
BBC Strictly: Shirley Ballas's comments didn't go down well with viewers at home
|BBC
This isn't the first time the former Strictly head judge has found herself embroiled in rather contentious debates with the Strictly fandom this series.
The 65-year-old was accused of "favouritism" regarding Mr Cope earlier in the 2025 series when fans compared her feedback towards the actor when compared to other female contestants.
And she also came under fire for her reaction to Alex Kingston after one of her routines brought the house down.
Mr Cope avoided mentioning the comments when speaking to Ms Winkleman following their latest routine, with Ms Winkleman instead focussing on the difficulties he and Ms Jones have faced this week.
"I know you found this very tricky. It's deceptively hard, isn't it?" she asked the pair, prompting the actor to admit: "Oh, it's very, very tricky.
"That's like the hardest thing I've done since being here. It's been a bit of a week, so that was brilliant to get those comments, so, yeah."
Ms Jones weighed in: "Yeah, it was probably the toughest week, like you said, for us. The thing is, they don't have the measure of what's good or what's not. They're just learning from scratch, following our instructions.
"So, me telling him you're doing great was not enough, you know, but he always turns it around and comes in with positivity, you know, all these comments that judges give us, you know, it's not easy.
" It's a product of really, really hard work. I mean, look at that sweat. I've eaten a little bit, because when he spins, it just whizzes into my mouth."