BBC Strictly Come Dancing: viewers divided by Will Mellor’s reaction to judge’s feedback in semi-final

Will Mellor has divided the opinion of Strictly Come Dancing viewers after showing his disappointment over the judge’s feedback on his performance in the semi-final.

The Coronation Street actor, 46, from Manchester, was one of the five celebrities performing two dances in the Strictly Come Dancing’s semi-final on Sunday night.

Other celebrities who showed off their skills in the BBC dance competition include wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin, actress Molly Rainford, television presenter Helen Skelton and singer/presenter Fleur East.

Will took to the dancefloor with professional dance partner Nancy Xu, to perform an intense Paso Doble for their first dance of two.

Head judge Shirley Ballas, began listing all the issues she had with the performance, which ranged from the shaping of his ‘Paso-hold’ to his use of the cape as a prop.

Shirley told Will: "You had the arrogance part, you came out and delivered a good strong message, I’ll give you that."

"These are basic fundamentals from the very very beginning, they were very much missing for me.”

"And, when you choose to use a cape at the beginning, you have to extend it, it can’t feel like it’s a little scarf round your neck, it is an extension that reaches," the head judge added.

Fellow judge, Anton De Beke, told Will that he had “tried a bit too hard.”

After receiving the negative feedback the actor was visbily disheartened. When asked how he felt the performance went by host Claudia, he said: "Rubbish. I’ve worked hard and I’ve let Nancy down.”

He went on to say that he’s not fishing for compliments from anyone, while explaining that partner Nancy taught him right but he was too aggressive.

Will added: “She told me to be calm and I forgot a few fundamentals.”

The actor concluded his first performance of the night by admitting that he has found being in the semi-final tough, saying: “We’re all in the same boat though, I should have done better."

Many Strictly fans took to Twitter during the show, with some confused with why comments were so exaggerated for the actor.

One fan tweeted: "It makes me so uncomfortable watching Will get criticism. I feel like he’s one comment away from walking off."

Another wrote: "My god. Will Mellor doesn’t half spit his dummy out when he gets actual feedback that’s not praising him. He did that last time too. #strictly Mate, you gotta take it on the chin and come back better. Not bitter."

However, other fans defended Will, who previously became emotional after another dance earlier in the season.

One viewer wrote: "Why did Shirley attack Will so fiercely? Completely out of order."

Another said: "Everyone saying Will was in a mood following that criticism are exactly the reason men don’t talk about their feelings and mental health. Quite literally the message of one of his dances earlier this series."

There were also viewers that commented on Will’s use of the cape during the dance, one tweeted: “Sorry, didn’t enjoy Will and Nancy - the cape looked like he was trying to dry himself with a towel."

Whilst another amusingly quipped: "The start of Will’s paso gave me flashbacks to when I got a dress stuck over my head in a Topshop communal dressing room in 1996."

Many fans of the BBC dance competition also took to social media over the weekend to complain about the schedule change due to the World Cup match on Saturday night, which pushed Strictly to Sunday evening.

For his second dance of the evening, Will and Nancy performed their couple’s choice to a medley which included - 90s hits, ‘Know How / Fools Gold / Step On Young MC / The Stone Roses / Happy Mondays.’

Strictly Come Dancing’s results show will air tonight (Monday, 12 December) at 8.15pm on BBC One.