Viewers were less than impressed with some of the judges’ comments during Strictly’s Blackpool special

Eagle-eyed fans of Strictly Come Dancing spotted a ‘perfect’ moment in the audience during Saturday’s Blackpool special.

The BBC dance competition returned to the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom this evening as eight couples took to the dancefloor in a bid to impress the judges and viewers at home.

EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick performed a condiment-themed jive to The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup with his professional dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas. The actor was lowered onto the stage on a giant ketchup bottle before jumping into his routine, surrounded by back-up dancers dressed up as mustard and tomato sauce bottles.

The high-energy performance received a mix bag of comments from the judges, and viewers at home were disappointed with the scoring, labelling it harsh.

Motsi Mabuse was first up with her comments. She told Jamie he gave the dance “absolutely everything” but said: “Your standing leg, just a little bit, a tiny little bit, it didn’t give you that vibration you need so you can absorb the music.”

Head judge Shirley Ballas said she agreed with Motsi and told Jamie that despite it being an “entertaining and exciting performance” he suffered a “couple of hiccups” during the routine. “You could have possibly overtried just a tad for me today,” she told the actor.

Anton praised Jamie’s performance, which he said he could tell he loved, and advised him to “find the love in each dance”, while Craig pointed out a few flaws with Jamie’s dancing before rounding off his comments with: “I loved loved loved watching you and I loved how jubilant you were throughout the whole dance.”

During the scoring, Jamie and Michele were awarded a nine by Anton and eights by the rest of the judges, scoring 33 points in total. Viewers at home suggested the couple deserved a higher score and questioned why the judges had been so ‘harsh’ on the pair, while handing the same scores to other dancers they deemed to not be as skilled.

But it was the reaction of Jamie’s mum, who was sat in the studio audience, that tickled fans. As the camera panned to her sat on the edge of the dancefloor following Motsi’s feedback, Jamie’s mum appeared to roll her eyes to the back of her head, suggesting she was less than impressed with the comments.

Some fans took to social media to point out the reaction, which one suggested “captured the nation’s thoughts”. Another commented: “I wanted to roll my eyes at some of them comments tonight too!”

A third person said: “Loved seeing Jamie’s mum rolling her eyes at him being over criticised again!” while another added: “Jamie’s mum rolling her eyes at the judges…spot on!”

“Jamie mum being a supportive queen rolling the eyes after Motsi comments,” another comments, while somebody else said: “The mum eyeroll was perfect!”.

Some viewers suggested Jamie had been underscored throughout the competition and questioned whether the judges had their favourites. “What is Shirley’s issue with Jamie?” one fan asked. “I think he’s better than she gives him credit for. I mean she gave Pete an 8 and he’s not nearly as good as Jamie.”

Another asked: “HOW is Shirley giving Jamie the same score as Wynne and Pete… were we watching the same dances?” A third said: “It’s so ridiculous that the judges comments are always so harsh for Jamie. They underscore him every week. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Another added: “What is actually wrong with the judges that they’re so harsh on Jamie every week?! That was so good and they’ve just trashed him!”