Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole is said to be 'gutted' that his criticism of Amy Dowden has been 'blown all out of proportion'. His friend and co-star James Jordan has spoken out in his defence.
Backlash over comments
Amy was eliminated from Strictly in the first week for the second year running, after she and her partner Chris Appleton were voted off earlier this month. In 2025, she was paired with The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner, who also left in the first elimination.
Brendan, who won the first series of Strictly with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky in 2004, said Amy 'hasn't been up to the challenge' of training another celebrity, despite returning to the show in 2024 after beating breast cancer. He told Sky Vegas: 'I don't think Amy's been doing a very good job for the last few years, and she's been out first for the last few years. One can do the maths on that.'
James Jordan weighs in
James Jordan, who stars with Brendan in Legends of The Dance Floor, told the Daily Mail: 'It wasn't what people think; he never meant it in that way, and he's actually quite upset about the whole thing. It's all been taken out of proportion, and yeah, it's a shame, because he was asked a question about them leaving and just said that he didn't think the choreography was that good.'
He added: 'And then people were saying, "Oh, she's a cancer survivor," and it's horrendous what she's been through, and she does amazing things for Crohn's and cancer and this and that. But hang on a minute… He was just asked about her dancing. He wasn't asked about any of that. So this makes him look really, really bad when he didn't mean it in the way that it's now been all blown out of proportion, which is a shame, really.'
James continued: 'I mean… what he should have done in hindsight, I suppose, was find Amy's number and send her a message and go, "Please understand. It wasn't coming from a bad place." But it has definitely been blown all out of proportion, and he's a bit gutted about it, to be honest with you.'
Amy's response
The remarks sparked backlash on social media, while Amy appeared to respond to Brendan in an Instagram video, miming to Mariah Carey's lyrics: 'And I was like, why are you so obsessed with me?' from the singer's 2009 hit, Obsessed. In her caption, she wrote: 'If you know, you know 😜🎀💖💃 #bekind #inaworldyoucanbeanythingbekind'.
Amy returned to Strictly in 2024 after taking a step back to undergo a mastectomy and chemotherapy for breast cancer. She danced with JLS singer JB Gill but had to drop out at Halloween when she collapsed backstage and was taken to hospital with a foot injury.
After her latest exit, she told host Emma Willis: 'Obviously, I'm heartbroken. This seems to be my luck the last few years, but do you know what? My heart is only breaking because I don't get to dance with [Chris] on Monday. But I get a friend for life, and that's what's gonna heal my broken heart.' Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
