BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans reel 'unfair' choice 'shouldn't be allowed' in final show

Strictly Come Dancing fans were up in arms over what they deemed an "unfair" decision during the live final on Saturday night. The controversy arose as the four remaining couples, including Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, and Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, were tasked with performing three routines.

The sequence included a show dance and two other performances for the judges and viewers' votes. However, eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that two of the pairs had been chosen to revisit their Couple's Choice routine as part of their trio of dances.

The Couple's Choice, a series staple, allows couples to pick a dance style outside the usual Strictly repertoire. In the final, the judges select one routine for each couple, the dancers choose another, and then all perform a show dance.

But it was the judges' decision to have Tasha and Chris repeat their previous Couple's Choice routines, a choice not made by the contestants themselves. This prompted some viewers to voice their concerns about fairness during the live show, reports the Mirror.

Strictly Come Dancing viewers argued that a particular type of routine should not feature in the final at all, commenting that it was too similar to the show dance, and also noting that other contestants were tasked with "harder" and "tougher" dance styles.

The fairness of the competition was under scrutiny as some suggested that if one couple had the Couples Choice, then all should, or none at all. Venting on social media platforms, viewers were quick to question the appropriateness of allowing such a dance in the final stages.

One commented: "Ooooo! Should we be allowing couples to do their couple's choice again in the final? Doesn't seem fair if they aren't all doing them." Aligning with this sentiment another stated: "I've always said a Couples Choice should never be a judges choice because it's a similar rule for the show dance."

Someone else wrote: "Chris and Tasha should've had one Latin and one ballroom dance each to make it fair." Amplifying this point, another viewer remarked: "Tasha was brilliant as ever - but couples choice does not belong in the final when they've got their show dance to do later on."

Opinions continued to roll in, with someone pointing out: "Not sure couples choice should be allowed in the final." This view was echoed by yet another who added: "Couples choice shouldn't be being done on the final when you're doing a show dance later on."

During the night, fans saw the remaining celebrities try their best to impress the judges for a final time. In the end, both JB and Tasha were top of the leaderboard with a total of 119 overall. Close behind was Sarah with a score of 118 and Chris with 116.

However, despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard, the comedian was crowned the winner of this year's series. As his name was called, Chris and Dianne were visibly shocked.

Speaking about their triumph, Chris said: "It's astonishing, I don't know what to say. I thought I would go out in the first week or two. We have lasted and lasted and she has got so much out of me, she deserves this so much.

"This is for her and for everyone out there who thought... who got told they couldn't do something or thought they couldn't do it. With opportunity and support and determination anything can happen."

Both Chris and Dianne were highly emotional over their win as they raised the Glitterball over their heads before the cast of 2024 rushed onto the dancefloor to embrace them.

Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.