Watch as ‘gutted’ Paul Merson hits back at Strictly judges’ terrible scores as fans claim he’s been ‘sabotaged’
FOR some celebs the sequins sparkle on Strictly, but for Paul Merson they seem to be sticking into his skin.
The former footballer has been left downhearted by his poor performance on Saturday night, which landed him with measly a score of 17 from the judges.
Appearing with his dance partner Karen Hauer on the BBC spin off show, It Takes Two last night, the former Arsenal midfielder seemed taken aback by his low marks.
He said: “I was a big gutted with my 2, I thought I’d get a 2 for putting my shoes on.”
The 56-year-old appeared glum and disenchanted by the whole experience, as he was interviewed on the BBC’s It Takes Two sofa by presenter Fleur East, but he seemed resolved to do his best.
He said: ‘I’m not very good so I’m going to go out and enjoy myself, so I think part of it is my choice to do it, so I’m going to go out and enjoy it.”
Many fans were unhappy with his mismatched song choice and routine- the song Vindaloo by Fat Les to the classic American Smooth, which evokes the dance sequences from Hollywood’s golden age.
Indeed after his performance and judges scores, there was much speculation on social media that he’d been stitched up by the producers in a bid to make him the series ‘joke act.”
Another said they were pleasantly surprised by his moves on the dancefloor.
“I didn’t expect to enjoy Paul Merson, especially not to that song but I thought he was great. He could move and entertain. Plus I loved how he casually headed that ball without losing his stride. A good watch. Don’t make him the comedy turn please.”
And another said: “He didn’t stand a chance. Embarrassed for everyone involved,” as another said: “Add Paul Merson to the list let down by the producers..”
Plucky Paul’s low score placed him joint second from the bottom of the leaderboard.
“I love Paul Merson but he is not happy with that score!” another viewer remarked.
This isn’t the first time Paul has shown his dissatisfaction on camera, either.
During the launch show, he and Karen were told what song they would be dancing to and he put his head in his hands.
But jumping to his defence, some fans have blasted the Beeb for giving Paul “patronising routines”.
This weekend, Paul will perform a fiery salsa routine to the tune of Fireball, but will his dance steps be smoking or too hot to handle?
Strictly 2024 Week One Scoreboard
Here's how the first week scoreboard looked:
- JB and Amy = 31
- Tasha and Aljaz = 30
- Sarah and Vito = 30
- Wynne and Katya = 26
- Montell and Johannes = 26
- Shayne and Nancy = 23
- Jamie and Michelle = 23
- Chris and Dianne = 23
- Sam and Nikita = 21
- Dr Punam and Gorka = 19
- Tom and Nadiya = 18
- Nick and Luba = 18
- Pete and Jowita = 17
- Paul and Karen = 17
- Toyah and Neil = 12