BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Paul Merson hits out at show bosses after fans notice 'trend'

The former Aston Villa FC, Arsenal and England star spoke out on Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two last night.

BBC Strictly Come Dancing star Paul Merson has hit out at show bosses after furious fans learned he’s landed another "joke" dance. The former Aston Villa FC, Arsenal and England star spoke out on Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two last night.

Merson, known affectionately as Merse, dialled into the BBC spin-off via video link, where he chatted to host Janette. Merse, the Sky Sports pundit, 56, made a series of subtle digs about his routines when discussing his Strictly journey so far.

Speaking via video link, Paul replied: "It was amazing just to get a nice dance. Obviously a barbecue and Vindaloo and Football's Coming Home and looking like someone who works on a ship... yeah, it was nice to dance.

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"I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair to her." Paul continued: "I felt more comfortable. It was just nice. When I first took up the chance to come on the show, this was what I thought it would be roughly. Do you know what I mean?

"It was nice to get one of those dances in. Before, I just thought of Fred Astaire and I couldn't see him dancing to Vindaloo." Janette asked him: "So you feel like you've got your proper whole Strictly experience under your belt now?" Paul replied: "Now it's back to reality again this week."

Paul's pro partner Karen Hauer then stepped in, saying to Janette: "It's what Strictly's about. When you have your top hat, you have your beautiful glamorous dresses." Karen went on to say: "This is what people tune in at times to see."

Paul and Karen are dancing a Samba to the 1976 disco track Car Wash, by US soul and RnB band Rose Royce, which some fans have slammed as another gimmick or joke routine this week.