ITV viewers have rushed to the defence of Dancing on Ice contestant Lou Sanders after she was on the receiving end of some rather underwhelming scores on Sunday evening.
The ITV competition has already found itself at the centre of a "favouritism" row this series down to the scores given to Miles Nazaire and Vanessa Bauer but this time around, the judges have been accused of dishing out unwarranted lower scores.
Sanders has found herself near the foot of the leaderboard week after week so far this series, and even faced the first skate-off against Ricky Hatton.
This weekend, she and her partner Brendyn skated to What a Wonderful World by Eva Cassidy but the judges weren't impressed enough to dish out the high scores.
Instead, Sanders was awarded 24.5 for the routine, despite it going without a hitch, and the comedian appeared visibly deflated as she sarcastically celebrated the low scores.
She even gave judge Ashley Banjo a sarcastic reaction when he mentioned that she'd been on the receiving end of low scores so far this series.
ITV Dancing on Ice row: The judges came under fire for their scores
ITV
It wasn't just Sanders who seemed annoyed by the feedback either as social media was soon flooded by disgruntled viewers feeling the judges had been overcritical.
One fan queried on X, formerly Twitter: "The judges don’t like Lou do they ???? Bit of weird thing going on somewhere!!!! #DancingOnIce."
"Even if Lou was perfect they would still find something to criticise #DancingOnIce," a second hit out while a third claimed: "These judges have it in for Lou… when she does solo skating they give her c**p marks and have knocked all her confidence… evil #DancingOnIce."
Meanwhile a fourth slammed: "Lou always gets under marked. She has smashed the dance. I know i'm not a professional so i'm not seeing what they do. I just see a beautiful dance and one that always gets under scored. #DancingOnIce."
Another echoed: "Making lou sanders dance a waltz, a dance notorious for being in hold, on a show that regularly penalises women for not skating by themselves was a choice. they want her gone and it’s so obvious. she’ll be getting all my votes #DancingOnIce."
"Lou is a far stronger skater than Adele, these marks are very unfair again #DancingOnIce," a sixth weighed in while another fumed at judge Oti Mabuse: "This week is Oti’s only contribution to the show really and her condescension on Lou is *really* showing. For everyone else it’s 'do … and you’ll be even more amazing than you already are' #DancingOnIce."
However, there were some who felt the criticism should be levelled at Sanders rather than the judging panel.
"Lou Sanders’ attitude stinks #DancingOnIce," one fan argued while a second said: "Even if Lou is absolutely rubbish ppl on here will say she’s amazing #dancingonice." (sic)
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Lou Sanders Dancing on Ice: ITV viewers were unhappy with the comedian's scores
ITV
Despite fans' concerns, Sanders had been tipped prior to Sunday's show to be in the running to be sent home.
James Leyfield at Gambling.com told GB News that bookies had it between Sanders, Claire Sweeney and Ricky Norwood to face the axe.
He said: "Despite being kept off the bottom of the market by Ricky, Coronation Street actress Claire is the 2/1 joint-favourite on betting apps to go home next, while she is also 2/1 favourite to be the next star to withdraw from the competition...
"If Ricky or Claire avoid elimination, then comedian Lou (11/4) and Emmerdale actress Roxy (3/1) should be the most concerned. After that quartet, it is 33/1 that Amber is sent home, which would be a huge shock after she topped the leaderboard last weekend."
