Movie Week kicked off on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, and there was no short of drama to match the theme.
Toyah Willcox and dance partner Neil Jones were the second couple to take to the floor, and after some backlash to Willcox’s dance-off save by the judges last week, the pressure was on.
Willcox, 66, danced the samba to The Little Mermaid’s Poor Unfortunate Souls, and while her villain look as Ursula impressed, she received a mix bag when it came to feedback from the judges.
However, at one point Willcox’s husband Robert Fripp felt he had to intervene when Craig Revel Horwood criticised his wife.
Following the dance, host Tess Daly remarked: “I hardly recognised you Toyah, you were brilliant!”
Shirley Ballas kicked off the judges’ comments, stating: “Oh I love Ursula! I loved your performance and I love the fact that you always give 100 percent.
“It had some really nice content – you did get on the wrong foot and I will deduct a point for that because there was too many times it happened, but you keep going and you just give it 1000 percent.”
Anton Du Beke also noted the mistakes in the routine, stating: “There were a couple of mistakes but overall I thought your timing was good, characterisation was good and it was a great effort!”
Crsaig Revel Horwood is known for his no-nonsense approach to judging so is at times seem as the villain of the panel.
He kicked off his feedback by telling Willcox: “I felt it was all a bit stuck in the mud… Flat-footed, very ploddy…”
The crowd booed in disagreement, but one person in particular could be heard over the rest.
Willcox’s husband Fripp stood up in the audience and booed loudly over Revel Horwood’s comments.
“Sit down young man!” the longest-serving judge quipped.
“That’s your husbnd!” Daly smiled as Fripp sat down, laughing at the interaction.
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“Oh that’s her husband?” Revel Horwood asked before he quickly added: “Well even more so, sit down!”
Ending on a good note though, he noted: “But you brought a magnificent attitude and a fantastic character to that dance!”
The jokey row comes after the judges received a lot of backlash this week for keeping singer-songwriter Willcox in the competition last week.
While she had been favourite to leave, the panel saved her in the dance-off when she and dance partner Neil Jones were up against Nadiya Bychkova and Tom Dean, who ended up being eliminated.
