Brendan Cole wants Strictly Come Dancing’s scoring changed

Brendan Cole thinks Strictly Come Dancing bosses should overhaul the show’s scoring system

Currently the show’s four judges – Shirley Ballas, Bruno Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood – mark each celeb out of 40 for their routine each weekend.

The public then vote for their favourites, and the combined judges’ scores and viewer poll results determine the bottom two dancers.

But pro dancer Brendan, who was eliminated last month with his celebrity partner Charlotte Hawkins, thinks its unfair.

“It wouldn’t hurt if there was a handicap system, like in golf,” he suggested.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Brendan added: “It would be good for people who don’t come from a stage school or performance background like Debbie, who has a ballet dance history.”

Brendan, one of Strictly’s original professionals, suggested the only way novice dancers could compete was to resort to comedy.

“The couples that aren’t as good as the rest are doing great comedy routines,” he said.

Meanwhile, Debbie McGee and and her pro partner Giovanni Pernice have hit back over her past dance experience.

Giovanni said in an interview with heat magazine: “Obviously she is a good dancer, but ballet is completely different to Latin and Ballroom, and she has to pick up a new routine every week.

“It’s very hard and I’m so proud of her.”

And favourite to win Debbie suggested that her previous training wouldn’t necessarily help her.

“I had ballet training over 30 years ago, it’s so opposite to anything I have ever done,” she told ITV’s This Morning. “The thing is, it’s so different to ballroom and Latin. I’ve never done anything like this. “

Debbie went on: “I danced over thirty years ago, I would describe it as a bit like if you asked a footballer to go and do something else thirty years later.

“It’s a completely different muscle, when you’re older, any muscle that stayed a bit trained from 30 years ago I’ve now got to untrain that, which is hard.”

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 is back on Saturday night on BBC One.