Stricty Come Dancing viewers wowed as judges' "incredible" costumes dubbed better than contestants

Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween Week got off to a spectacular start as the judges took to the screen in their ghoulish ensembles.

Sporting costumes inspired by Tim Burton's iconic horror The Corpse Bride, the four judges strolled their way to the dancefloor to Backstreet's Back by the Backstreet Boys before performing a few quick zombified dance moves.

The quartet got a strong reception from those in the studio, with Claudia Winkelman remarking "how extraordinary," while Tess Daly added, "love the commitment."

That reception was by no means limited to the studio, either, with viewers on social media chiming in with their own thoughts on social media.

"The judges costumes are incredible," wrote one X user, while another said "thanks judges, I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway."

So impressive were the judges' costumes, in fact, that several viewers put forward that their costumes had eclipsed those of the contestants themselves.

"Looks like all the make-up went on the judges tonight," was the view of one viewer – one that was echoed by several others, while some argued that the extravagant costumes actually overshadowed the dancing itself on the night.

Though the costumes were the highlight of the judges' introduction, their dance moves certainly did not escape viewers' attention, with many jokingly critiquing them for ironically not "doing the dance right."

Vicky Pattison opened the show with a terrific American Smooth to Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, while Ellie Goldstein and George Clarke were the next celebrities to go under the judges' microscopes.

Shirley stood up on a couple of occasions to highlight strong points of the performances, which was made slightly difficult by her layered dress.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 2nd November at 7:15pm.

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