Cach Mercer is exposing Strictly Come Dancing’s biggest problem

His talent is undeniable (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire) Cach Mercer is proving to be one of the most divisive Strictly Come Dancing contestants in years. The Love Island winner, 25, is a semi-professional dancer, who taught himself street dance growing up in east London. His talent is undeniable. He moves like no one I’ve ever seen on Strictly before, his rhythm is up there with the best of the best, and he glides around the dancefloor with such a lightness it’s genuinely quite fascinating to watch. But his technique is a sore point, to put it lightly. Even during the first live show, the judges criticised that his quickstep incorporated freestyle elements. And last night they were torn by his waltz to That Ain’t You by Mulaa Jones. Get personalised updates on Strictly Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Anton Du Beke was his typically overexcited self, but it felt genuine when he said: ‘I just keep saying this about you: it’s old meets new. I love this new and when you join in the old, it’s just gorgeous.’ Craig Revel Horwood couldn’t have disagreed more, adding: ‘It’s not about old meeting new. The posture was poor, the frame wasn’t great, you were leaning over Maddie – there wasn’t a single heel lead that I saw in that dance at all, darling.’ Despite Cach quite clearly being one of – if not the – best dancers of the night, he’s going into the results show at the bottom of the leaderboard with just 26 points for what was one of my favourite waltzes – even if at times his own style tookprecedence over tradition. Professional dancer Maddie Ingoldsby has faced the brunt of backlash against Cach. This is her first ever series of Strictly Come Dancing, and each week, viewers accuse her of ‘letting down’ her partner. They say she is ‘too inexperienced’ to choreograph someone else. Maddie isn’t abandoning technique, she’s playing to her partner’s strengths (Picture: PA Wire) Given that she is a UK National Ballroom champion and eight-time Amateur 10-Dance World champion, I think she’s more than qualified to choreograph another trained dancer. While their harshest critics see a couple who have abandoned technique, I just see Cach and Maddie dragging Strictly Come Dancing into a new era, which I welcome with open arms. Maddie isn’t abandoning technique, she’s playing to her partner’s strengths and incorporating them into ballroom to create something special. This show has seen hundreds of contestants in its 22 years and this uniqueness is exciting. It’s refreshing to see a dancer put his own stamp on Strictly. Even having the talent to be able to bring something new to the show is something that should be praised – not penalised. Moments before Cach’s Waltz, Tabby Stoecker and her partner Mark Karmalita came back fighting with their full-throttle Paso Doble after sinking to the bottom of the leaderboard in Halloween Week. It’s refreshing to see a dancer put his own stamp on Strictly (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy) They had passion, fire and were scored accordingly by the judges. Fizzing with excitement, she told host Johannes Radebe: ‘It’s about how you make people feel and obviously the technique is important and I want to learn that to the best of my ability and do [Mark] proud, but also when the room is on their feet, that’s when you dance well.’ Tabby accidentally summed up what I love about Cach. The technique might not always be at the same level as some of his natural skill, but he just categorically is a much better dancer than anyone else this series. Granted, being able to follow the brief of each style of routine is important – I’m not going to deny that. But so often Strictly Come Dancing takes itself far too seriously; its viewers talk about each routine like they’ve spent their entire lives competing in ballroom when they’ve likely never even tried it themselves. It’s a close race this year, the leaderboard has never been so unpredictable going into each week (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/Press Association) Across the pond, Dancing With The Stars is much looser with technique than Strictly. Contestants are regularly judged by the spectacle, the wow factor, over whether the footwork was precisely as it should be for an American smooth or Viennese waltz, and I’d love Strictly to follow suit a bit more. They should be remembering it’s a Saturday night entertainment show made up of fairly amateur dancers doing their best, instead of sapping the fun by focusing so hard on the technical over what can still just be a great dance. I appreciate that is what the judges are there for. I’m not questioning their credentials or suggesting their critiques aren’t accurate. What is your opinion on Cach Mercer bringing a modern style to Strictly? I love it, it keeps the show fresh and exciting.Check I think it's interesting but tradition should be maintained.Check I dislike it, Strictly is about traditional dancing.Check Want to get bespoke updates on the TV shows you love? Sign up to Metro's TV newsletters and tell us which ones you can't get enough of But there’s a great risk that Cach will leave tonight because of the laser focus on his technique, which is still better than most. Should that happen, we’ll lose a dancer who is by far one of the most enjoyable to watch and capable of bringing a magic so few contestants across the entire 24 series of Strictly have. Yes, there’s work to be done on the technical but the level of criticism he’s received from both the judges and viewing public is so unreasonably harsh and, for me, is dating Strictly. It should be thrilling to watch a new, dynamic energy being introduced to a show that could do with modernising. Not utilising his background in street dance in a dance competition is absolutely absurd. It’s a close race this year, the leaderboard has never been so unpredictable going into each week. Deals of the Day The Orlando holiday deal Disney fans shouldn't miss We're adding this discounted NEOM gift set straight to basket Want an LED face mask for less? This Black Friday deal could save you hundreds This teeth whitening sale could save you up to 64% before Black Friday These Simba Black Friday deals are too good for tired shoppers to ignore But should Cach go tonight, it would be such a waste of one of the most exciting Strictly Come Dancing contestants the show has seen in years. 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