‘It’s psychological, you tend to be told what is good and what is bad’

As the grand finale of Strictly Come Dancing approaches, former professional dancer Brendan Cole has accused the judges of influencing public opinion against finalist Tasha Ghouri.

In an exclusive interview with ED! on behalf of SkyVegas, Brendan shared his concerns about the judges’ critiques and their ability to sway audience votes in favour of certain contestants.

Brendan argued that the Strictly judges have the power to sway public opinion (Credit: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing judges’ votes won’t count in final

Brendan candidly addressed how much weight the judges’ feedback carries with viewers. And, although their scores won’t influence who wins directly, he admitted that their comments and critiques may play a crucial role in determining the winner.

“The audience will make up their own minds, but a lot of people do listen to what they [the judges] say. Otherwise, what’s the point of them?” Brendan remarked.

“It won’t alter [the results] that much, but they can. They can plant doubts in people’s minds.”

The former Strictly star went on to explain how this season’s judging has seemingly shifted in favour of JB Gill while becoming more critical of Tasha.

“They [the judges] have been really strong on JB Gill because they’ve been championing him for the last few weeks,” Brendan observed.

“They’re not quite as kind about Tasha [Ghouri], which they were in the first few weeks. That can plant a seed in the audience’s minds that JB [Gill] is the best as he’s getting the best marks, so let’s vote for him. That’s essentially what happens.”

Tasha Ghouri has been receiving lower scores, which may deter audiences from voting for her (Credit: BBC)

“It’s psychological’

Brendan also elaborated on the psychological influence judges can have on audience perceptions.

‘It’s psychological, you tend to be told what is good and what is bad,” he explained.

“I could watch something and think one thing, but someone else could give me their opinion on it, and instantly my opinion could start to change towards their opinion.

“The judges are supposed to know what they are doing. It’s very easy to [change opinions] as people do hold what they say with weight, and it can sway things.”

How the winner is decided

The Strictly Come Dancing 2024 winner is decided solely on the public vote. The judges do give their verdict, with 10 paddles doubtless getting an airing, but those scores won’t count. And, when it comes to picking a winner, that honour is entirely up to the viewers.

A successful season, according to Brendan

Despite his criticism of the judges’ feedback, Brendan praised the overall production level of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

“The show has been pretty good as a whole, and no one can look at the show and go, that could have been better,” he said.

“They’ve had some great artists coming on, the costume, hair, and make-up are always outstanding – they’ve got that absolutely spot on. As a viewer, people should be quite happy.”