Strictly Come Dancing ex-pro Brendan Cole has ‘revealed’ the real reason judge Motsi Mabuse awarded Lewis Cope the first 10 of the series.

Actor Lewis took to the dance floor at the weekend with partner Katya Jones to perform a Paso Doble to The Plaza of Execution from The Mask of Zorro. The routine went down a treat with the judges and Lewis topped the leaderboard after bagging the first 10 of the series from Motsi.

But now, amid backlash from viewers, the former Strictly Come Dancing pro has also slammed the “ridiculous” score and shared their thoughts on the reason behind Motsi’s decision.

Lewis Cope received first 10 of Strictly series

At the weekend, Lewis – who has been embroiled in professional dancer claims since the first episode – made jaws drop thanks to his Paso Doble performance with Katya Jones.

He received a standing ovation from most of the judges, including Motsi, who went on to award him to the first 10 of the series, giving him a total score of 37.

She said: “This was the dance of the night, without a doubt!”

However, the decision to award Lewis Cope a 10 so early on in the series didn’t go down well with fans watching at home. On X, one angry person fumed: “A 10 on week 3 is ridiculous and no fun, Lewis shouldn’t be there.”

Another chimed in: “Off course Lewis *the dancer, got great critiques and will probably get a 10.” Someone else declared: “A 10 in week 3 is ridiculous.  How can you improve on a 10?”

Pro dance slams Motsi’s ‘ridiculous’ score

What’s more, it’s not just fans that have an issue with Motsi’s scoring, as a fellow pro dancer has now shared their thoughts.

“Lewis Cope did not deserve a 10 – the score is just ridiculous,” said Brendan Cole, speaking exclusively to Entertainment Daily on behalf of Sky Vegas.

He added: “You’re basically telling me it couldn’t be better, and that’s simply not true. I could pick holes in it if you want me to – I can tell you what he did right and what he did wrong. There are always things you can do to make a dance better, and as good as it was, it certainly wasn’t perfect.”

Why Motsi awarded Lewis at 10 ‘revealed’

Brendan Cole – who appeared on Strictly between 2004 and 2017 – continued: “Was it a great number? Absolutely. Was it choreographed brilliantly? Yes. Did he perform it extremely well? Without question. But was it perfect? No. So why a 10? Why is there a judge on the panel giving out a 10 in week three?”

He then shared his thoughts on why Motsi awarded Lewis a 10. Brendan explained: “Maybe it’s because Motsi [Mabuse] marked everybody else too high earlier in the night and had nowhere left to go.

“Maybe she’d already given someone else a nine and felt this was better, so she had to give it a 10. But really, she should start lower. If you’re handing out high scores for average dances, you leave yourself no room to reward real brilliance later.”

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