Strictly Come Dancing’s most complained about moments ever – including filthy routine and THAT Bruno ‘boob-grab’ scandal | The Sun

WHO knew a ballroom floor could spark so much outrage?

Whether it's 'weird and confusing' drag dances or insane boob squeezes, the set of Strictly Come Dancing has seen it all.


Now in its 21st series, hundreds of fans have called up Ofcom to complain about untoward moments since the BBC hit's inception in 2004.

We take a look at the most complained about Strictly moments ever.

Drag race

In 2020, Strictly was hit with more than 100 complaints over an opening performance featuring three male dancers in drag.

Dance pros Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice and Johannes Radebe brandished rainbow fans as they slayed a Priscilla-themed routine.

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The spectacular performance was certainly glitz and glamour, but for some of the audience it was just "weird".

One outraged viewer took to social media and claimed it "confused their grandchildren".

As a result, the BBC were on the receiving end of more than 100 formal complaints and had to issue a public response.

The broadcaster defended the routine for being "inclusive".

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A BBC spokesman added: "It was intended to be a fun and entertaining musicals dance for our viewers who are used to and expect Strictly to be glamorous."

'Touchy, feely, so good'

Shirley Ballas certainly looked uncomfortable when Bruno Tonioli appeared to grab her breasts in 2017.

The awkward moment, which reportedly received 20 Ofcom complaints, came seconds after singer Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka put on a heated show.

The scintillating performance prompted flamboyant Bruno to exclaim: "Oh you make me feel so good."

However, the fiery Italian then turned to Ballas, next to him on the panel, and ran his hand across her breasts.

Bruno schmoozed: "Touchy, feely, soft… so good."

The incident even shocked host Tess Daly, who reminded Bruno they were live on air.

The Beeb refused to confirm how many people had objected but an insider suggested it was about 20.

A TV source said: "Bruno’s behaviour was obviously meant to be harmless but a number of viewers didn’t see it that way at all.

"The BBC has now received formal complaints and will be officially looking into them to decide whether Bruno’s behaviour was acceptable.

"He obviously thought it was light-hearted fun, but you could tell Tess was shocked by her reaction. She looked completely aghast.

"Bruno is obviously a larger-than- life sort of character but a number of viewers felt that touching a woman’s chest like that even in jest sends out the wrong message."

Getting crotchety

Robbie Savage and his partner Ola Jordan were performing the Paso Doble when the former Leicester City ace took things to another level.

Dancing to the tune Bad by Michael Jackson in 2011, Robbie started doing sexually provocative "crotch thrusts".

He even finished the routine by leaping onto the judges’ table and grabbed himself in front of Craig Revel Horwood.

Unfortunately for the ex-footballer, the audience blew the whistle.

The BBC said it received 325 complaints about the routine.

Fans also hit out on social media, with one claiming: "We thought that the use of ‘hip thrusts’ by Robbie Savage during his performance tonight was particularly vulgar, deplorable and completely unnecessary.

"They were particularly suggestive especially to the younger audience and the action in front of Craig was very much out of order.

"It is not necessary for him to hold his crotch in that way to give a good performance. We hope that this will not be repeated in future."

Missed the point

Fans were left fuming when Craig Horwood's judgement ruined Fleur East's perfect score.

Dancing the samba alongside Vito Coppola, the audience was left floored by their dazzling routine to Hot, Hot, Hot by Arrow.

The Sax singer scored a total of 39 – gaining a whopping three 10's from Motsi, Shirley and Anton and a generous 9 from notoriously critical judge Craig.

Just missing out on a perfect score of 40 points, however, was enough to rile some fans, who even complained to the TV watchdog.

One viewer even went public with their complaint, tagging in Ofcom on Twitter, now "X".

The post read: "Dear @Ofcom, I want to report a BBC crime. A 9 by Craig to Fleur. He needs to be sacked right now."

Injury time

In 2016, Strictly Come Dancing caused a huge stir when singer Anastacia was unable to perform in the dance-off.

Anastacia had been relegated to the bottom two but was unable to jive again because of an injury.

The show was forced to revert to a public vote, which saw Melvin Odoom go home instead.

Fans were left outraged by the decision and phoned in with their gripes.

Ofcom later confirmed that six people had made an official complaint and as a result decided not to investigate the drama.

Cursed luck

Bruno's potty mouth has been known to break the strict pre-watershed rules during the live show.

And after one dance from Jay McGuiness in 2015, he gleefully remarked: "Oh yeah, those are the bull's b*****ks!" before the camera panned to a mortified crowd.

Ofcom later received 19 complaints about the phrase.

The TV regulator did not investigate the incident, however, it has continued to uphold the rules barring most swearwords before 9pm.

A study from Ofcom in 2010 classified "b*****ks" in the second lowest category of swearwords along with "bloody" and "c**p".

Vote disaster


One of the worst controversies on the show came back in 2008, when a voting balls-up left the entire semi-final show essentially redundant.

As the episode drew to a close, Lisa Snowdon and Rachel Stevens tied at the top of the leaderboard, making the votes for third-placed Tom Chambers irrelevant.

The disaster saw the BBC field almost 200 complaints as a result.

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Phone calls were refunded and Ofcom clearing the BBC in its ruling, concluding the mess was an "oversight".

Thankfully for the BBC, it has not happened again since.

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