Strictly Come Dancing's Ross King told he 'deserves' to be at bottom of the leaderboard by ex show pro
Anita Markoff | 10:27am Tue 30 Sep | Updated 10:31am Tue 30 SepRoss King has been hit with a blow after former Strictly Come Dancing pro Ola Jordan said he “deserves” to be at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The TV showbiz correspondent, 63, made his ballroom debut on Saturday and danced a Cha-cha-cha to Katy Perry’s California Gurls with partner Jowita Przystał.
But despite throwing himself in the performance, which started with him whizzing down a giant slide, he received just 10 points out of 40 from the judges. Ross and Jowita later finished bottom of the first leaderboard.
Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Ola Jordan has slammed Ross King’s Cha-cha-cha [Credit: Cover Images]
Ola Jordan’s verdict for Ross King
Ola, who won Strictly Come Dancing during her time on the BBC show, has since shared her thoughts on Ross and Jowita’s performance. And it isn’t pretty.
Speaking to Mecca Bingo, Ola said: “Oh dear. He had lots of Cha-cha steps, but also lots of messing about. It was not great. There were a few Cha-cha bits, but there was too much messing about.”
Ola added: “It wasn’t my cup of tea. He is deservedly at the bottom of the leaderboard.” Ouch.
Ross has spoken out about his low score during an appearance on ITV‘s Lorraine. As the show’s LA correspondent, he has updated host, Lorraine Kelly, about how he is getting on.
The Scots-born presenter admitted: “I got a 10. Unfortunately it was all the scores added together.” Ross went on to admit he is “terrified” on stage and is so embarrassed he wants to watch the footage of his performance from “behind the sofa”.
Ross continued: “That routine is like a couple of minutes. That was 10 days [of practice] and you’re still thinking all the time, ‘Which way is it going?’. People watch and think how easy it is, but don’t realise everything that’s gone on and the experience you’ve had. You have no control over anything.”
While Lorraine did poke some fun at the start of his routine, which saw him whizz onto the stage from a red slide, she also defended him against one judge’s criticisms. Lorraine told him: “Shirley in particular was really harsh, and I’m so glad that Motsi said, ‘Do you know what? This man has never actually danced before’. For goodness sake, cut you a bit of slack.”
What did Shirley Ballas say about Ross King?
Following Ross’ first performance, head judge Shirley Ballas pointed out issues she had with his timing and footwork. She told him: “We had so many things for me that were off. Your feet – turned in. They need to be at five to one on the ballroom clock. The balance was off, your toes were curling up, you looked hesitant when you were moving. You were too early coming down the slide.”
As the audience booed, Shirley continued: “You’d rather I was honest than lied to you. You show promise. Go back, study hard and keep working on the same things over and over again. And come back with a better dance next week.”
Craig Revel Horwood described Ross’ performance as “very awkward and pigeon-toed”. Anton Du Beke was a bit more positive, calling the dance “uplifting”, but even he admitted it was riddled with footwork mistakes.
Defending Ross, Motsi then chimed in: “We’ve all started somewhere, and there’s space to climb!”
Craig and Shirley awarded Ross and Jowita just two points each, while Anton and Motsi each gave him three.
The presenter received the second-lowest Strictly score ever for his cha-cha-cha [Credit: BBC]
Ross’s odds to win
It’s not just the Strictly judges and Ola Jordan who think Ross King isn’t doing too well for himself. Bookmakers don’t appear confident about the presenter’s abilities either. BoyleSports previously gave Ross odds of 80/1 to win the series. This makes him the least-favoured celebrity to lift the Glitterball trophy.
On the plus side, his professional partner may turn out to be his secret weapon. Before celebrity pairings were announced this year former Strictly contestant Pete Wicks claimed that anyone who is paired with Jowita has “an unfair advantage”.
The reality star, who made it to the semis with Jowita in Strictly 2024, added: “Genuinely, I always think Jowita’s got a chance at anything because she’s amazing, and if she can get me to a semi-final…Whoever she gets this year is an improvement on where she started last year, do you know what I mean?”
