Strictly's Alfonso Ribeiro accused of giving more marks to contestants after ranking dancers higher than other judges

The Fresh Prince star stepped in for Bruno Tonioli who was away due to prior commitments
BBC/Guy Levy
Isobel Frodsham19 October 2019

Strictly Come Dancing guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro ruffled a few feathers this week after give the contestants “high scores”.

The actor – who previously won Dancing With the Stars – awarded points from 7 and 10 for the dancers, with only David James and Nadiya Bychkova being handed less with a 5.

Viewers said they were shocked when Ribeiro gave Mike Bushell and Katya Jones a seven for their Samba to Apache (Jump On It) by The Sugarhill Gang – the song that helped Ribeiro scoop his title as the winner in 2014.

By contrast, Craig Revel Horwood had given them a three, Motsi Mabuse a six and Shirley Ballas awarded a five.

High stakes: Katya and Mike cheer after Alfonso awards them 7 points (BBC)

One fan said on Twitter: "Is Alfonso just going to round up the score lost from Craig for every couple?"

Another said he was just "balancing out" the scores from the other judges while another added: "Just awful from Mike and Katya but the overmarking is not a surprise. That dance was a total set up for Alfonso."

Several viewers loved Ribeiro’s role on the show and urged him to return to the show as the judge.

One fan wrote on Twitter: "Where can I vote for Alfonso to join the judging panel permanently?"

Jump on it: The Dancing with the Stars winner got up and danced with Mike and Katya 
BBC/Guy Levy

Another said: "Why don’t they just get rid of all the other judges and leave Alfonson to judge by himself?"

While another added: "Can Alfonso just replace Bruno please?"

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star stepped into the guest judge role after Bruno Tonioli missed out on filming due to prior commitments.

The results for Strictly will take place on Sunday night at 7.15pm on BBC One.​

Strictly Come Dancing 2019

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