Strictly Come Dancing judges clash over routine as Shirley Ballas is branded "fun sponge"

The Strictly Come Dancing judges might know their stuff, but they don't always agree, as Lawrence Robb's divisive performance proved this week.

The four judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, and Anton DuBeke - clashed over Lawrence's Rhumba, which he performed with pro partner Jowita Przystał.

Shirley was the first to give her verdict, and took issue with the choreography, saying the routine wasn't her "cup of tea".

She added that she likes "the man to be in control" in a Rhumba and said she would have liked more steps from Lawrence.

That led to the usually very critical Craig dubbing her a "fun sponge" and saying that Lawrence "got away" with the routine.

Meanwhile, Motsi also praised the routine, while Anton added that the judges' disagreement shows why there needs to be four of them.

Lawrence and Jowita scored 20 for their Rhumba (two 5s, a 4 and a 6), slotting them into the lower half of the leaderboard. It puts them about level with their score for last week.

Later in the show, Shirley got her revenge when she declared Craig was a "fun sponge" over his criticism of John Nellis's routine.

Elsewhere this week, the judges were blown away by Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington's glittering performance, with the Australian singer-songwriter securing the first 9 of the series.

In stark contrast to Lawrence's comments, Shirley also predicted that Delta will "go all the way" - high praise indeed!

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 17 October on BBC One and iPlayer.

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Authors

Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.