Strictly Come Dancing viewers were in for quite a surprise while watching tonight’s (December 2) show as during the opening musical medley, the singer appeared to drop a swear word into a song.

While performing 'Boom Goes The Cannon' from Hamilton, the singer, Trevor Dion Nicholas, appeared to have sung the original lyrics, which includes the word "shit".

The lyrics go: "Boom goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray."

trevor dion nicholas and the strictly come dancing professional dancers
Guy Levy//BBC

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But seeing as the watershed states you are not allowed to swear on TV before 9pm and this performance aired before that time, it came as a huge surprise to viewers when it looked like the lyrics had remained unchained.

However, the BBC clarified that there was no swearing at all, and that the lyrics were changed from "shit spray" to "ship spray".

"There was no swearing, the lyrics were changed from the original and the singer said 'ship spray'," a BBC spokesperson said in a statement when Digital Spy reached out for a comment.

The viewers, however, were not convinced, as one user on Twitter jokingly said: "Can’t believe I heard "shit" on BBC One at 8pm. I’ve just put my foot through the telly and telephoned Mary Whitehouse. Outraged!"

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"I am not entirely sure they were supposed to keep that 'shit' there in the lyrics of the opening medley…" added another.

"In the Hamilton piece, did they just sing ‘shit’ before the watershed on BBC One? Game’s gone," another user remarked.

If nothing else, one thing is for sure. Strictly Come Dancing always makes for an eventful night.

For one week only, Strictly Come Dancing airs on Friday (December 2) at 8pm on BBC One, with a results show on Saturday (December 3) at 5.40pm. Spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.

Interested in talking about Strictly Come Dancing? Visit our dedicated sub-forum

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Shivani Dubey

Shivani Dubey is a freelance writer covering entertainment, culture, social trends and lifestyle. She has been published in Vice, Vogue India, Refinery29, Mashable, i-D, Little White Lies, HuffPost and The Daily Beast among other titles. You can find her on Twitter.