Thomas Skinner was left visibly frustrated by his second week of low scores on Strictly Come Dancing after judges awarded him 13 points for his salsa to Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers”.
The former Apprentice star, 34, audibly shouted “no” backstage at the BBC dance competition after Craig Revel-Horwood awarded him just two of a possible 10 points on Saturday night (4 October).
Revel-Horwood told the controversial businessman that he looked like he was competing “in a weight lifting competition” while performing a series of complex lifts with his pro partner Amy Dowden.
The judge added the salsa performance “lacked any real hip rotation or fluidity” but conceded that Skinner did “have the strength of an ox”.
Meanwhile, Motsi Mabuse called Skinner’s performance “interesting” and head judge Shirley Ballas told the personality: “You gave it a go”.
Speaking to Claudia Winkleman after his performance, Skinner said: “I ain’t good at dancing, so I might as well do some lifting.”
Following Revel Horwood’s low score, Skinner shouted in frustration while Dowden hid her face in his shoulder. However, the couple perked up slightly as Anton Du Beke and Ballas awarded them fours.
This is the second week of low points for Skinner, who danced the paso doble in week one. It received a total of 12 points from the judges, and just two Revel-Horwood.
Some Strictly viewers were left as unimpressed as the judges by Skinner’s week two performance. “That was genuinely the most disturbing thing I've ever seen,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
Meanwhile, another person added: “I can’t cope. This was, in every sense of the word, ‘bonkers’.”
However, other fans claimed Skinner had been “thrown under the bus” by being given a salsa to dance to Dizzee Rascal. “I reckon he might be better with ballroom,” they theorised.
Skinner has faced a backlash in recent months after posing for photographs with the US vice president JD Vance, and criticism intensified after he joined the BBC dancing competition.
The internet personality addressed the anger over his participation on the series after receiving a social media backlash for supporting Trump – and said every insult he receives makes him stronger.
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