Strictly's Shirley delivers tough-love assessment of EastEnders star: 'Not going to go far'

Whilst the general critical reception was a warm one, it was Shirley Ballas who delivered an unexpected but important message for the soap star. Starting her critique, Shirley said: "The footwork, for me, was by no means very good."

As the audience started to boo her, she continued: "Hold on, because I do believe that Balvinder is going to go far, I believe that. But she's not going to go far if everything is mushy and cushy and 'Oh, you're just great.' I want her to learn something."

Shirley offered up suggestions about the way in which Balvinder could finish off specific moves and how she could perfect her heel turns in the future. "The slows weren't quite there, the quicks looked a bit stuck.

"So, I believe with all this beauty and finesse that you have given, you are stunning — but footwork will need attention because, as you move further on into the competition, you're going to need it for stability. I think you're great, like everybody said, but let's pay attention to those little small details."

Going back to talk about things with Claudia Winkleman after the performance, Balvinder did accept Shirley's comments and understand what she was talking about. She said: "Absolutely. I do need to think about footwork and moving through my movements and finishing them."

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Nevertheless, Balvinder said that she felt as though she and Julian "brought the magic" of Fred and Ginger, which was integral to their performance. In the end, the pair received a score of 26, which paves the way for plenty of improvement.

The EastEnders star did previously admit to Radio Times magazine that she is a slight "perfectionist," saying: "I think the scrutiny will come from me first before anybody else," she explained. "Even when I get my lines, I'm like, 'Why this word? Why not that word? OK, I've got to make this work.'"

She added: "So I need to try and understand this language that we're going to be speaking now because it is like another language. So, for me, I can't think about the scrutiny of anyone else, because then I think I will just fall flat on my backside."

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and iPlayer.

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