James Jordan has said the recent culling of several Strictly Come Dancing professionals was “getting rid of dead wood”.
After hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they were leaving the BBC series last year, it was then confirmed that professional dancers Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas would not be returning.
Speaking about the cull, Jordan – who was a professional dancer on Strictly from 2006 until 2013 – said a shake-up was “needed”.
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.”
But former Strictly professional dancer Ian Waite said: “In my opinion, they got rid of the wrong ones.”
He said: “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.”
Jordan then said he believed the cuts could have gone further and they could have “got rid of some of the judges as well”.
“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.”
He then called for the “reality” of the series to be shown to viewers.
“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.”
Jordan 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.
After Daly and Winkleman’s exits, the new hosts will be Emma Willis, dancer Johannes Radebe and comedian Josh Widdicombe.
Jordan said he thought Willis was “absolutely amazing” but would “hold his judgment” on the other two as he had not seen them present before.
But he said: “I would have preferred someone like Bradley Walsh or Vernon Kay, or someone like that, because they’re tried and tested. But at the same time, sometimes you got to take risks, and I’m not going to say it’s not good, because I haven’t seen it until I see it.”
Later this year, Jordan and Waite will be teaming up with fellow former Strictly pros Brendan Cole, Pasha Kovalev and Vincent Simone for the dance show Vegas: After Hours.
Waite appeared on Strictly from 2004 until 2010, while Cole was on the show from 2004 until 2017. Kovalev was part of the series from 2011 until 2018. Simone was on from 2006 until he left in 2012.
The show will see them bringing the spirit of Sin City to life with routines set to a soundtrack inspired by Las Vegas performers.
Jordan said following their previous Legends Of The Dance Floor in 2024 and The Return Of The Legends last year, they were approached to do another show with the “old geriatrics from Strictly”.
Waite then joked that although they had asked producers to be sent to Vegas for “research purposes”, money was “too tight”.
“They said they couldn’t afford James’s casino bills and Vincent’s drinks bill,” he said.
Jordan said: “These guys are amazing and inspire me every single day that I watch them on stage. They’re all so different and so brilliant at what they do, but I think what separates our tour from any other Strictly tour is the realism in between with the chat, the camaraderie between us, and the fact that we take the mickey out of each other.
“If we were still working for the BBC, we wouldn’t be able to say some of these things… but it’s all very real and honest and funny.”
The 30-date tour starts in Fareham on October 3 and wraps up in Cardiff on November 8.
Tickets are on sale now, available from the venues, Ticketmaster and on www.legendsofthedancefloor.com.
