Strictly Come Dancing pro Vincent Simone has defended the judges’ scoring of actor Nigel Harman and urged Casualty fans to “calm down” after they claimed he’d been viewed harshly.
In a new interview with ICE36, Vincent declared that he felt Nigel had been “judged fairly throughout the competition”.
The professional dancer, who appeared on the show between 2006 and 2012, responded to the criticism by insisting: “I am sorry Strictly fans, but I have to disagree with you.”
He acknowledged: “The Rumba is a really hard dance – I know the judges have said that a million times – for a male celebrity.”
Vincent clarified that he “really enjoyed” Nigel’s efforts to tackle the traditionally tough genre, but thought, unlike some fans, that his performance wasn’t “worthy of a ten”.
READ MORE: Chris Packham shares angry letter to Ant and Dec over ‘appalling’ I’m A Celeb[DEBATE]
For him, it was EastEnders star Bobby Brazier’s dance with Dianne Buswell last weekend that deserved the highest score, but he added that, in his eyes, Nigel would still have come in second.
Addressing the verdict of notoriously tough-talking Craig Revel-Horwood and his co-stars Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton du Beke, he said Nigel “could have maybe got a couple more points, but I think it was a pretty fair score”.
Meanwhile, Vincent has given tougher criticism to Bad Education actor Layton Williams, claiming he could have worked harder on his technique.
Layton is a fan favourite for many, but the 44-year-old Italian branded his dance “rough and ready” and cautioned: “I thought his dance lacked a lot of technique and finesse.”
Don’t miss…
Kaleb Cooper announces surprising new career move away from Clarkson’s Farm[LATEST]
Claudia Winkleman’s ‘non-negotiable’ in marriage after ‘alarming’ discovery[INSIGHT]
I’m A Celebrity star slams ‘pile on’ and vitriol thrown at Nella Rose[DEBATE]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
“There wasn’t much technique and his posture was wrong; it looked to me that Layton didn’t work hard enough on this dance,” he concluded.
However, Simone, who has appeared not just on Strictly in the past but I’m A Celebrity too, balanced his criticism by suggesting he could make a spectacular comeback next week.
“Musical Week is the perfect theme for Layton to come back and show the judges just how good he is,” he exclaimed, perhaps in a nod to his West End theatrical background.
“I’m convinced that he will come back and do what he does best; he will be at the top of the leader board next week that is for sure.”
Layton almost bowed out of the competition altogether last week after facing Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu in the dance off.
However, he managed to emerge victorious at the end, and has a second chance to excel in the competition and lift the Glitterball trophy at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, he unveiled a new love interest on Instagram this week, sparking increasing interest in the star – and even Carol Vorderman posted her congratulations.
The full interview with Vincent Simone on the ICE36 blog, detailing his thoughts on the other dancers in the competition, can be found here.
Source: Read Full Article