A former Strictly star has claimed that the BBC ‘got rid of the dead wood’ by axing several of its pro dancers in recent months. It’s been a turbulent period for the annual dancing competition, which is set to return in September. EastEnders actress Lacey Turner, Love Island’s Dani Dyer and Australian singer Delta Goodrem have all been confirmed to be taking part on the upcoming series.
Last month it was revealed that Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe have been chosen as the show’s first ever presenting trio. They’re taking over from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who bowed out together in December.
Prior to this, a number of Strictly pro dancers revealed that they wouldn’t be returning to the BBC dancefloor. The first of the stars to announce they were leaving was Karen Hauer, appearing on the programme for 14 years, whose exit marked the end of her reign as the longest-serving professional. Days later, Nadiya Bychkova announced her departure after nine years. Luba Mushtuk was the third pro to confirm their departure from the show. The fourth exit announcement in March came from Michelle Tsiakkas, who joined the series back in 2022.
After several weeks without any exits, Gorka Marquez confirmed that he was also leaving the BBC series. Gorka was unable to take on a celebrity partner during the 2025 series as he was judging Bailando con las Estrellas, the Spanish version of Strictly Come Dancing.
Now, former Strictly pro James Jordan has had his say on the major shake-up. James, who went on to win the ITV series Dancing On Ice, was on Strictly from 2006 until 2013. He told the Press Association: “When you join Strictly, you’re taking someone’s job, OK? And people forget that because they’re on the show, but then when they’re asked to leave, and then they’re replaced, they’re only worried about that. But they forget at some point, they took someone’s job. It’s just showbiz, that’s what it is. Enjoy it for what it is – it is a juggernaut of a show, and it was an honour for all of us to be part of it for so many years. But you have to remember that it will come to an end at some point, and all this controversy around, ‘oh, they’re changing so many of the pros’… it needed a shakeup. Some of the pros have been on there for 14 years… dead wood… get rid of them and bring someone younger in, in my opinion.”
Fellow former Strictly pro Ian Waite argued: “In my opinion, they got rid of the wrong ones… All the professional dancers are amazing in their own right, but you can’t stay on there forever. At some point, you have to give the younger ones a chance, because there’s so many amazing dancers out there.”
According to James, he believes that the cuts could have gone further and they could have ‘got rid of some of the judges as well’. He explained: “It’s all got nicey-nicey now, isn’t it? It’s all politically correct, and ‘you can’t say this, and you can’t say that’. You can’t be negative because they’re (the contestants) are gonna cry. It’s a dance show. You need that baddie… but even Craig (Revel Horwood) now is kind of toned down a lot… It’s all like everyone loves everyone, and we’re all one big happy family. That’s not life, that’s not real life. I want to see how hard they’re working in the training room. I want to see the tears. I think that’s the magic that needs to come back.”
James previously left Strictly after turning down the offer of a reduced role, which would not have seen him partnered with a celebrity on the main programme.
