They topped the leaderboard again this week with sensational Musical-themed performances, both earning a score of 39 from the judges.
But Strictly Come Dancing fans were out in full force against Alexandra Burke and Debbie McGee on Saturday night, as they accused the show of favouring the two contestants, ahead of next weekend’s semi-final.
Viewers took to Twitter in frustration by stating that the show was fixed for one of the two contestants to win, and that the judges were overmarking their performances.
Fix! Strictly Come Dancing fans took to Twitter on Saturday night to accuse the judges of over-marking Alexandra Burke and Debbie McGee
After Alexandra wowed with a Mary Poppins-themed Charleston on Saturday, the judges showered her with praise, as Bruno said the dance was ‘the showstopper we needed,’ while Shirley Ballas said the performance was ‘stratospheric.’
Debbie was equally acclaimed by the panel, dancing a passionate America Smooth to Memory from Cats, with Shirley calling the dance: ‘intimate, polished and hugely impressive,’ while Bruno said the performance was ‘technically flawless.’
Fans were less impressed by the performances, with several noting that the judges overscored the pair, but were overtly harsh on actor Davood Ghadami for his Argentine Tango.
Not so amazing: Viewers of the BBC show angrily tweeted that the judges were overmarking Debbie for her performance, which saw her joint top at the leaderboard
Showstopping? Fans also accused Alexandra of being favourited to win by the judges, despite being in the dance-off last week
Frontrunner: Viewers also tweeted that the judges are being too harsh on other contestants while too lenient on Debbie and Alexandra
One viewer tweeted: ‘Debbie’s a trained ballerina. Amazing for 59, but she’s a professional. Also Alexandra.’
Another added: ‘So Debbie stumbled slightly and they don’t mention it, but Davood can do the same and it’s the main focus?’
A third tweeted a screenshot of the Strictly website after attempting to vote for Gemma Akinson and Mollie King, resulting in an error, with the caption: ‘Trying to get in to vote for Gemma and Mollie, but the website isn’t working. Trying to fix the result are we?’
Annoyed: Viewers angrily tweeted that Alexandra and Debbie did not deserve to top the leaderboard, with another noting a website error prevented them from voting for other stars
Biting back: Debbie fought back against the criticism, saying her previous dance experience has actually hindered her in training
The reaction from fans came as Debbie angrily fought back from claims that her ballet dancing background by saying it actually does the opposite.
She said: ‘The people who say that really have no understanding of dance. When I did ballet I stopped as a dancer when I was about 23.
‘That training in a way is a disadvantage because the muscles were trained differently. I haven’t done that for over 30 years.’
Viewers will have to wait and see whether Debbie and Alexandra can make it through to next week’s semi-finals, when the stakes will be raised as each couple will have to perform two dances.
Strong: While Alexandra has been consistently strong throughout the series, a weak rhumba last week put her in the dance-off
Amazing: The judges have been no stranger to praising Debbie for her performances, but fans will have to wait and see whether she makes it through to the semi-finals