Strictly Come Dancing has a fresh judging debate on its hands after former professional Oti Mabuse questioned the marks awarded during Saturday’s 7 November programme. Her criticism, shared in a TikTok response and reported by The Independent on Sunday, comes as the remaining couples prepare for the Week 7 results show.
Mabuse, a two-time Strictly champion, said she felt too many contestants had been marked down without a sufficiently clear explanation of what they needed to improve. The point is not that she has called for a judge to be removed or alleged that the results are fixed. Her stated concern is whether the feedback matches the numbers on the paddles.
What did Oti Mabuse say about the Strictly judges?
According to The Independent’s 8 November report, Mabuse described the Saturday programme as exceptionally frustrating to watch. She argued that several performances appeared to be underscored and questioned whether the panel was judging the particular couple in front of them consistently.
Her central request was for more useful, constructive feedback. A lower mark can be informative when the judge identifies a technical weakness and explains how a dancer might correct it. Without that explanation, the same score can look arbitrary to someone watching at home. Mabuse’s comments addressed the judges collectively, a panel which includes her sister Motsi Mabuse alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke.
It is important to distinguish her criticism from claims circulating among viewers. A former professional expressing disagreement with the judging is a genuine new development; it is not evidence of behind-the-scenes wrongdoing or an official BBC review of the panel.
Why did the Week 7 marks prompt questions?
Saturday’s live broadcast provided several examples of a substantial difference between individual judges’ assessments. EastEnders actor Lacey Turner and professional partner Vito Coppola performed a rumba to Coldplay’s Yellow. The judges gave them six, seven, eight and nine points respectively, producing a total of 30.
That three-point spread between the lowest and highest scores became a particular talking point. Entertainment Daily and other coverage of the broadcast also noted Craig Revel Horwood’s comparatively severe marking. His four-point scores for John Nellis and Katya Jones, and for Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, contrasted with more generous assessments elsewhere on the panel.
Different scores do not automatically mean the judging is inconsistent: the four experts may legitimately prioritise timing, footwork, posture, performance and musical interpretation differently. But when a couple receives a four from one judge and much higher marks from others, viewers understandably want to know which technical features each judge valued.
How does the leaderboard fit into the argument?
Dani Dyer and her partner topped the Week 7 leaderboard with 36 points. At the other end, John Nellis and Cach Mercer were among the lowest-scoring celebrities on 26 apiece, according to The Independent’s account of the evening. Those totals establish the competition’s Saturday position, not the outcome of the public vote.
The Saturday scores are only part of Strictly’s weekly process. The audience vote is combined with the judges’ ranking to determine which couples face the dance-off. That distinction matters when discussing supposed unfairness: criticism of one judge’s numerical mark should not be confused with a verified claim about who will leave the series.
Jaime Winstone’s injury also affected the week’s competition. She was given a pass through to the following round after suffering a torn abdominal muscle during rehearsals. Her absence from Saturday’s performances changes the context of the leaderboard, but it does not establish that any other contestant was treated unfairly.
What happens on Sunday’s results show?
BBC One’s Week 7 results programme is scheduled for Sunday 8 November at 7.10pm, with a dance-off to decide which competing couple leaves. The broadcast is also billed to include a Remembrance Sunday-themed professional routine. The confirmed schedule is distinct from unverified elimination spoilers shared before the programme airs.
For viewers, the immediate question is whether Saturday’s widely differing marks will be reflected in the couples who land in danger. That can only be assessed properly once the BBC announces the result. Until then, Mabuse’s intervention is best understood as a debate about clarity and consistency in judging, rather than a prediction of the elimination.
Why Oti’s perspective carries weight
Mabuse won Strictly with Kelvin Fletcher in 2019 and Bill Bailey in 2020 before leaving the professional line-up in 2022. She therefore knows the work that goes into preparing a celebrity for a live routine, as well as the challenge of making technical advice accessible to a mainstream audience.
Her criticism adds a recognisable professional voice to a discussion already taking place among viewers. It does not settle whether any individual mark was right or wrong. What it does underline is the importance of explaining the reasoning behind a score when a television competition asks audiences to invest in both the dancing and the fairness of its outcome.
Sources: The Independent (8 November 2026), Entertainment Daily (8 November 2026), and the published BBC One Week 7 results schedule via TV Guide. This article discusses reported comments and confirmed programme information, not an unannounced elimination.