The reason why this year’s Strictly Come Dancing could be biased

It's not the first time the show's faced criticism

Strictly Come Dancing

by Marianna Manson |
Updated on

Strictly Come Dancing’s firm impartial judging approach could be thrown into question this year after the extent of head judge Shirley Ballas and BBC presenter Dan Walker's friendship was revealed.

Dan – who has been called the ‘dad of the group’ by his fellow Strictly contestants – climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania together for Comic Relief in 2019 and said in a chat with Closer Online, "We had some great conversations on that trip. I really got to know her well. I'm looking forward to seeing her.

"We've had a few Kilimanjaro reunions. She's great, talented and knows what she is talking about."

He went on to detail an episode where he showed off his dancing talent, adding, "On one particular occasion Shirley was feeling a bit down and a bit upset. I nicked one of the blankets we were using to keep warm at night and I did a bit of impromptu pasodoble. She laughed her head off."

CHECK OUT: the Strictly 2021 professional line up

Gallery

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 professionals stacked

Strictly professionals 20211 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Kai Widdrington

Strictly professionals 20212 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Cameron Lombard

Strictly professionals 20213 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Nikita Kuzmin

Strictly professionals 20214 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Jowita Przystal

Amy Dowden5 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Amy Dowden

Dianne Buswell6 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Dianne Buswell

Giovanni Pernice7 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Giovanni Pernice

Gorka Marquez8 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Gorka Marquez

Johannes Radebe9 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Johannes Radebe

Karen Hauer10 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Karen Hauer

Katya Jones11 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Katya Jones

Graziano Di Prima12 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Graziano Di Prima

Luba Mushtuk13 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Luba Mushtuk

Nadiya Bychkova14 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Nadiya Bychkova

Nancy Xu15 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Nancy Xu

Neil Jones16 of 16
CREDIT: u00a9 BBC Pictures

Neil Jones

WATCH: Ferne McCann on breaking up with her ex-boyfriend and her heartbreak plan | First Time Mum Secrets

He added, "I questioned whether I would've got a 10 but she continued to laugh, so I'm not sure the technique was great."

It’s not the first time a potential conflict of interests has raised questions of favouritism on the show, after Motsi Mabuse was enlisted to replace Dame Darcey Bussell in 2019.

Motsi – who previously competed on and judged the German series of the show – was forced to defend her new role on the panel, as her sister Oti competed on the show.

READ MORE

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 CONFIRMED line-up

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 is thrown into 'CHAOS'

Strictly's Oti Mabuse didn't speak to sister Motsi for THREE months to avoid cheating allegations

"I’m going to judge her like any other dancer," she told daytime telly host Lorraine at the time. "Oti has done so well here, I’m so proud of her. Me being extra hard, or me giving her extra points would be disrespectful to what she’s achieved.

"And I never want to do that and of course everybody else, this show is not about me and Oti, it’s about everybody else and it’s about being fair to everyone. I wouldn’t want to jeopardise a beautiful show and go there do all this negative stuff."

In the two years that Motsi has been on the panel, Oti has won both times, first with Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher and last year with comedian Bill Bailey.

Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us