Fans of Emmerdale favourite Lawrence Robb have come to his defence amid criticism from judges on Strictly Come Dancing, following an impressive first showing.
The Scottish actor, best known for his turn as the mischievous Mackenzie Boyd in the ITV soap, danced a paso doble to Harry Styles’s song Aperture with professional dancer Jowita Przystal and managed to earn a score of 20 from the judges.
Craig Revel-Horwood awarded him 4 points, while Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas gave him 5 points each, before Anton Du Beke awarded the actor 6 points.
Robb’s performance earned him some constructive criticism, with all judges praising the acting skills that he displayed for his moody facial expressions, but commenting on some of the less-than-ideal aspects of his dancing technique.
Motsi called on Robb to bring “control” for future performances, while asking him to control the shoulders especially. Shirley praised the actor’s “opening line”, while Anton noted a need for “better shaping” and Craig called it all “very square” and bemoaned the lack of “Spanish line”.
However, Emmerdale fans were quick to jump to Robb’s defence on social media about his performance, particularly on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Soaps writer Chloe Timms penned: “I don’t really do #Strictly but wow Lawrence Robb was incredible!”
Another fan on X penned: “Lawrence Robb you were amazing!!!!!! So much charisma and potential there!!!! #Strictly“
Meanwhile, another Emmerdale fan commented: “actually so invested in Lawrence Robb being on strictly… what is happening to me #StrictlyComeDancing“
Finally, one viewer concluded: “The paso was so difficult for week 1, I see so much potential in Lawrence and he is such a sweetie, love Jowita and her choreography she’s amazing #Strictly“
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Radio Times, Robb previously poured water on claims he was a highly trained dancer, admitting he has “a teeny bit of basic dance experience” but not of the calibre of the professional dancers on the show.
“I can give you a solid step click, and that’s about it,” Robb explained. “When it comes to Latin, ballroom, absolutely not. So I think Jowita’s got her work cut out for her, but I’m looking forward to helping her work through that.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 26 September at 6:15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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