BBC Strictly descends into chaos as dance 'fails miserably' and one judge is 'nauseous'

Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood dished out caustic criticism on tonight's show (Image: BBC)

Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood is known for his caustic criticism, but he was even more savage than ever in Saturday's show after two couples in a row failed to live up to his exacting standards.

Craig dismissed Shayne Ward and his pro partner Nancy Xu during their first-ever public dance together, declaring: "As a samba, it failed miserably - it was more like a Salsa!" Anton du Beke couldn't back the couple up sufficiently either as they pranced to Stevie Wonder's 'Do I Do?' as he admitted that the samba usually makes him "nauseous".

As the audience reeled from the revelation, Craig gave the couple a dreaded low score of just four, Shirley Ballas gave them a five, while Anton du Beke and Motsi Mabuse awarded the pair a six. They smiled graciously despite the harsh criticism, but Craig then turned his harsh attention to the next couple - Toyah Willcox and her returning pro partner, Neil Jones.

He argued that their Tango performance to Madonna's 'Ray of Light' was "lacking aggression" and that Toyah had "lost timing" and "lost connection". An astonished Shirley chimed in: "For once in my lifetime, I agree with you, Craig!" Motsi stepped in to stand up for the couple, describing Toyah as a "powerhouse" and insisting that she wasn't about to let anyone stop her - "even Craig".

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Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones on the dancefloor (Image: BBC)

However, Craig was unrelenting in his savage criticism, awarding the couple a super-low score of just two points.

Toyah admitted: "My feet weren't touchng the floor - you were so strong!" as she apologised to Neil.

He defended that she was "great", despite confessing of her timing: "You were just doing some things a little bit earlier or later!"

There was a dramatic reaction on Twitter, and as contestants confessed they couldn't wait for 9:30pm to come so the show would be over, one viewer wrote: "The amount of judge bickering [and] contestants answering back, this is not going to be finished till midnight #Strictly."

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Toyah Willcox alongside Neil Jones ahead of their performance (Image: BBC) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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"Toyah Wilcox, god love her, one of the worst dances I've ever seen #Strictly," chimed in another viewer, as others echoed that she was being "tossed around like a ragdoll".

A third lamented: "#Strictly toyah started well, lost it, never recovered and ended up looking like she was being dragged round the floor."

A fourth agreed: "Good on Toyah for giving it a good go. That wasn't a brilliant Tango though. Neil was dragging her around. Not enough attack. I feel she'll be at risk next week. #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly."

However, others commented appreciatively that she was making the effort to do something different and praised for her for "that alone" as they rooted for her future performances.

"My daughter just asked why weird Barbie is doing Strictly," one chuckled, adding: "Toyah gives the best vibes #Strictly."

Another quipped: "I hope I have her energy when I'm 66!"

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