Strictly fans blast the judges’ ‘crazy’ scoring and the ‘messy’ leaderboard as they fear a huge ‘shock’ in the dance off – as hosts address Delta Goodrem’s absence

Strictly Come Dancing fans have blasted the judges’ ‘crazy’ scoring on Saturday night as they took aim at the ‘mess’ of a leaderboard.

Week four of the BBC show saw the remaining couples take to the dancefloor for Icons Week, where they performed routines to songs by musical greats including Elton John, Shania Twain, ABBA and Adele. 

After giving it their all on the dancefloor, Cach and Maddie and Jaime and Carlos were joint top of the leaderboard with 34 points, while languishing at the bottom was Sarah and Julian with 21 points, followed by Dani and Nikita with 25.

The middle of the leaderboard saw more ties amid the closely contested week, with three celebrities scoring 29 points (Lacey, Tabby and John), while Graeme and Shaun bagged 28 points.

However, watching at home, viewers were far from impressed with Shirley, Craig, Anton and Motsi’s erratic scoring, noting their marks were ‘all over the shop’ and heightening fears that there’ll be a huge ‘shock’ for Sunday night’s dance off. 

Taking to X, viewers were quick to share their thoughts as they hit out at the judges’ scoring decisions on the night. 

They penned: ‘leaderboard in shambles this is going to be a mess’

‘The leaderboard has ties! This is going to be a shock dance off’

‘scoring tonight has been really crazy’; ‘The scoring is allllll over the shop tonight.’

‘the leaderboard is such a mess. i fear we’re in for a shock dance off this week’

‘I am so mad about the leaderboard. No way was Jaime as good as Cach, and Dani should not be that low.’

‘The scoring tonight is CRAZY. Scoring Graeme the same as Lacey’ 

‘leaderboard is dodgy af tonight…. Wonder what the dance off will be like’

‘I have never been more confused by the scoring than tonight. How did Graeme blag 7s there?! 6s would have been generous.’

Despite the scoring drama, fans have generally loved the episode, as they praised the dances and improvement by the hots – after some intense backlash in the first few weeks.

They remarked: ‘A much more enjoyable episode of #Strictly tonight, the dances were fun, and of a higher standard from more couples. I thought the Judges looked ridiculous though, especially Craig & Anton.’

‘Enjoying this series of Strictly. The 3 new presenters all improving & Craig is almost nice at times! However, Graham is a likable chap, but am not quite sure he is quite as good as the judges seem to think.’

‘This is the best week so far this series. Couples doing some of their best dancing, judges shining and entertaining, good song choices and the hosts finally feel like they are hitting their stride.’

While another defended the judges scoring, adding: ‘In relation to the judges scores and comments, don’t people realise it doesn’t really matter what they say or score because it’s just down to the public and its suppose to be fun, it’s not that deep.’

Elsewhere, hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe shared their well wishes to Delta Goodrem as she was forced to miss Saturday’s show due to injury.

It was confirmed on Monday that the singer, 41, had been forced to stop training after injuring her rib and will be given a bye until next week.

And addressing the Australian star’s absence, Emma told how it was ‘such a shame’ for her to be missing out on Icon’s Week, as she explained to viewers what happened and reiterated that the rules meant she’d be able to dance again next week. 

Meanwhile, Johannes added: ‘Delta my darling, I know you’re watching at home, we’re all sending you so much love!’

Doctors have advised Delta to get as much rest as possible and have told her to sleep upright to aid the recovery.  

On Monday Delta will sit down with bosses and medics to decide if she is fit to return to the show. Strictly rules dictate that contestants are only allowed one free pass before they have to withdraw from the competition.

Insiders have revealed that Delta injured herself during training last week but managed to perform her Salsa, which involved some complicated lifts, on last Saturday’s live show.

The singer and Kai went on to top the leaderboard for a second week as they performed to Always There/Ain’t Nobody by Jocelyn Brown/Chaka Khan. 

Hours later though and Delta was taken to A&E after she struggled to sleep through the pain. 

Meanwhile it’s been confirmed that Amy Dowden, who was voted out of the competition with her celeb partner Chris Appleton in week one, is set to return this Saturday, teaming up with Kai for a performance to Dolly Parton’s Jolene. 

Week four saw the couples dress as their favourite icons, and they certainly pulled out the stops with their costumes as well as their routines. 

Taking on the challenge first was John Nellis and Katya Jones performing a Paso Doble to It’s My Life by Bon Jovi.

An excited Motsi gushed; ‘I love your spine!’ adding that she ‘loved the shaping and your spine, you weren’t a little raisin, you were a big grape, but I wanted a little more flow.’

Shirley noted that she loved John’s ‘continuous movement’, while Anton made reference to John’s recent diminishing scores as he said: ‘welcome back from week one.’

John and Katya’s efforts paid off as they received a decent 29 points by the judges. 

Next up were Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin, who slowed things down with a Rumba to Hero by Mariah Carey.

Dani was visibly nervous during the routine, admitting afterward that she’d had a tough time this week as she struggled with her confidence. 

Her confidence no doubt got a boost as she was supported in the audience by her actor father Danny Dyer, who was sitting alongside fellow hard man actor Ray Winstone.  

Anton remarked that he ‘enjoyed it a lot, you were a bit reserved but underneath was a lot of good stuff’, Shirley noted she ‘handled’ the nerves while Motsi pointed out that her relationship with Nikita had grown.

The former Love Island star and Nikita were awarded 25 points in total. 

The third couple taking to the floor was Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał, who took on a Salsa to La Copa de la Vida by Ricky Martin.

The Emmerdale star put his all into his performance with knee slides and lifts, leaving the judges very impressed, with Anton remarking: ‘Heavens above, that was spectacular!’

Craig noted that it was his ‘your strongest dance yet’, while Shirley caused a stir as she told the actor: ‘You did some lovely things with your body!’

The comments were indeed reflected in the scores as they scored an impressive 30 points – 10 up from last week. 

Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita then danced a Samba to Where is My Husband! by RAYE.

Impressed by what he saw, Craig quipped: ‘Not too shabby, Tabby!’ and while Motsi loved the attitude, she warned that the sports star needed to ‘work on your upstairs’.

The pair’s efforts saw them awarded 29 points, with Craig scoring the highest out of the judges. 

Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon were up next, doing a Tango to That Don’t Impress Me Much by Shania Twain.

Sarah channelled the singer by donning an orange wig and a leopard print ensemble, but the efforts didn’t impress the judges much, with Shirly stating there was ‘not enough heel and too much bounce.’

Craig also noted there was ‘too bouncy’, and while he said it was ‘not right downstairs’, Anton encouraged the star to ‘believe in yourself’. 

After being left stunned by a supportive video message by Shania herself, Sarah and Julien received a score of 21 points out of a possible 40.

Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby were the next pair to take to the floor, dancing a Foxtrot to Theme from New York, New York by Frank Sinatra.

After previously putting a street dance flair to his routines, this week the Love Island star stuck to the brief and transformed into a ‘ballroom boy’. 

The sleek performance had the audience on their feet and ‘King of Ballroom’ Anton had nothing but good words to say, declaring: ‘From one ballroom boy to a new ballroom boy, welcome to the club!’

Anton went in to praise the reality star’s ‘immaculate footwork and timing’ while Craig said: ‘Thank you to committing to one genre’ adding that it was ‘absolutely fantastic!’ 

Bagging two 9’s, Cach and Maddie scored a whopping 34 points – the highest score of the series so far. 

Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu then did the Cha Cha to Respect by Aretha Franklin.

The duo received mixed reviews from the judges, with Shirley noting Bethany needed to work on her ‘posture’ and ‘arms’, while Craig said her ‘footwork and fluidity were lacking.’ The pair scored 27 points.

After landing in the dance-off last week, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr were hoping to make a positive impact with their Couple’s Choice to Medley by James Brown.

And they certainly did that as their lifts, flips and tricks left everyone excited, with Crag noting it was ‘my favourite of your dances’, while Anton shared: ‘You’re on a rollercoaster ride and are back up top.’

Despite making some mistakes, which the judges did pick up on, the pair scored a respectable 28 points, his best score so far.  

Last week’s live show saw judge Motsi Mabuse seemingly hit back at rumours of tensions between herself and Josh Widdicombe as she made a cheeky remark.

During week two viewers started to notice a simmering ‘tension’ between Motsi and Josh, as they suggested the judge had ‘had enough of the comedian interrupting her with his jokes’. 

However, as week three kicked off, Motsi attempted to dispel the speculation as she insisted that Josh was her ‘friend’.

Following Cach Mercer’s routine, Josh quipped that he and Emma Willis were ‘dancers’ and as he directed his joke towards Motsi, she responded by remarking: ‘Yes Josh, my FRIEND!’

Her not-so-subtle comment saw Josh roar with laughter as the rest of the audience giggled along, causing fans to pick up on the moment on X.

Meanwhile, the latest instalment of Strictly saw fans note that Johannes Radebe is really ‘settling’ into his role as they finally begin to warm to the hosting trio.

The former show professional dancer, as well as his co-hosts Emma Willis and Josh have come under fire since the first live show’s presenting format was panned by fans – with Josh branded a ‘spare part.’

Viewers noted that the South African dancer, 39, began talking when the couples were making their way up the stairs to the ‘Clauditorium’ amid the audience applause, meaning fans were unable to hear what was being said. 

And while week two saw many complain that the format was not switched up, week three finally saw viewers begin to thaw to the trio, particularly Johannes. 

Elsewhere, Strictly’s judges clashed during last week’s show as Craig Revel Horwood labelled head judge Shirley Ballas ‘a fun sponge’ for her ‘harsh’ critique.

Whilst Craig is notoriously the toughest judge on the  BBC show, viewers pointed out that Shirley was dishing out more low scores and getting more boos from the live studio audience as the celebs took to the floor for a third time.

Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb and his partner Jowita Przystał’s Rumba was singled out by Shirley, who is known as the ‘queen of Rumba’.

The head judge moaned it was ‘not my cup of tea, flat-footed, and too much standing around’, explaining she had awarded an extra point for ‘hitting one nice line’. 

Anton Du Beke disagreed with Shirley’s criticisms and confirmed he ‘liked that style of Rumba’, before Craig branded her a ‘fun sponge’ as he praised ‘talented’ Lawrence’s ‘great storytelling’.

Motsi then joked of the tension between Craig and Shirley: ‘I feel like a child having to help my parents through a divorce.’ 

Week three’s results show saw Gavin and Stacey favourite Melanie Walters and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec leave the competition after losing out in the dance off against former footballer Shaun Wright- Phillips and Alexis Warr.

They were the second couple to be given the boot from the show following the first elimination which saw celebrity hairdresser Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden depart. 

Strictly Come Dancing results will air on Sunday at 7.10pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.