BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans say 'that's what happens' after 'outrageous' Paul Merson and Karen Hauer move

Paul Merson and Karen Hauer's latest performance in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom had viewers saying the same thing. The former footballer and his pro dance partner finally impressed the judges after a rough couple of weeks in the ballroom.

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were seen kicking off the latest live show on Saturday night (October 12) before the 13 remaining couples were seen returning to the ballroom for the next live performance after an epic Movie Week special last weekend and the exit of Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones.

And for Paul and Karen the compliments came flooding in as they gave an 'unforgettable' Quickstepperformance to I Won’t Dance by Fred Astaire.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland leaves fans in tears as they say judge 'should be ashamed'

Anton Du Beke gushed over's Paul's dedication as he said he 'took his hat off' to the star after making a comeback from being in last weekend's dreaded dance-off.

Meanwhile, Craig Revel Horwood said that he was loving the progression from Paul after landing at the bottom two more times than anyone else on the series and Motsi Mabuse said that the routine 'melted her heart' before they recieved a total score of 23 points, their highest in the competition yet.

And Strictly fans were quick to make the same point. @angelobruno8172 said: "That happens when you give him a real chance and don't just try to make a joke out of him. That was good." @liv_hoops wrote: "So nice to see him being taken seriously as a dancer this week! And he proved he CAN dance."

@bethanyfoden commented: "This is why it annoys me when they make a certain person out the be the “jokey” one because you’ve finally given him a serious dance and he did great!" @Sturdygirl0803 posted: "Brilliant! A proper dance from Paul, exactly what he deserves. No silly gimmicks or props, he doesn't need to be the "joke" act. Well done #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing."

@ShanghaiHannah added: "Dear BBC, See, this is what happens when you drop the gimmick and joke act shtick. That's not entertaining. THIS is. Remember you had a hit with Come Dancing. People do still like to watch actual dancing. Paul finally getting what he deserves. #StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly."

Some, meanwhile, even was so far to say that they think Paul deserved a higher score. @liz_0403 said: "Undermarked compared to others this evening, massive improvement which deserved higher scores." @carlea888 commented: "And yet this wa seriously undermarked. His best dance by far and yet other people got stupid scores like 9 n he still gota 4? Wrong."

@popescu.elena.20 wrote: "The 4 was outrageous. He danced much much better, he actually danced the quickstep. I really liked them tonight." @wanderesc1 added: "Paul was so undermarked #Strictly."