Two odd moments surrounded a tango on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday 24 October 2026. Craig Revel Horwood reportedly grabbed fellow judge Shirley Ballas’s shoe while mocking her criticism. Later, host Emma Willis corrected Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola’s displayed score from 29 to 28. The shoe was a theatrical retort; the extra point was a graphics mistake.
Which performance?
Series 24 Week Five started at 6:30pm British Summer Time. Lacey, known in Britain for playing Stacey Slater in the soap EastEnders, danced a tango with professional Vito to Blondie’s “Atomic”. Strictly pairs celebrities with professionals and four judges score each dance out of ten. It is a British show with its own cast, not an episode of an overseas adaptation.
What made the shoe funny?
The tango was fast and forceful. Craig, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke praised its commitment, but head judge Shirley criticised overloaded choreography and rough footwork. Reports describe audience boos, with Craig joining in. He picked up a black shoe belonging to Shirley and joked that she should put it in her mouth. British slang “gob” means mouth; the joke amounts to an exaggerated “be quiet”. Craig is famous for being a harsh critic himself, making his sudden role as another judge’s heckler especially incongruous.
Where did the point go?
The actual marks were Craig 7, Motsi 7, Shirley 6, Anton 8: 7+7+6+8=28. The on-screen graphic incorrectly displayed Shirley’s six as seven and therefore showed 29. Emma apologised and confirmed 28 before the leaderboard. Shirley did not change her mind after judging.
Why do some reports say salsa or 29?
Some early articles described the routine as salsa or repeated the erroneous total. Dance listings and live coverage identify a tango to “Atomic”; the correction confirms 28. Contemporary viewer posts also disagree about the quality: some loved Lacey’s energy, while others found the choreography frantic and supported Shirley’s technical criticism. Those posts are individual reactions, not evidence of global outrage. The shoe exchange is reported by journalists; this account does not pretend to be a full first-hand viewing or transcript.
Conclusion
A judge reached for a shoe to debate footwork, then the TV scoreboard needed correcting. One tango managed to put both the judges’ language and the graphics team under scrutiny.
