BBC executives have reportedly held emergency meetings to discuss Thomas Skinner's place on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, following an incident in which the Apprentice star snatched a reporter's phone and stormed out of an interview.
The 34-year-old social media personality was taking part in a roundtable media session at BBC Elstree Studios on Tuesday when he grabbed a journalist's device and abruptly left, telling reporters, 'I'm not doing this.' The outburst has alarmed show bosses, who had hoped for a trouble-free series after recent controversies.
A source told the Daily Mail: 'This is exactly what Strictly did not need. With all the recent controversy, bosses wanted this series to be smooth sailing, but Thomas is already causing havoc. It's unprecedented for a celebrity to walk out of the show's media launch day.'
A BBC spokesperson responded: 'The BBC is very clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected will not be tolerated on our programmes.' Earlier that day, BBC director-general Tim Davie had defended Skinner's casting, telling the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the decision was made by the production team based on who would be 'interesting to the audience' and willing to commit to the three-month training period.
Davie also addressed criticism from presenter Narinder Kaur, who claimed she was deemed 'too controversial' for Strictly. He said he had 'never heard that' and stressed that the BBC would not accept anyone with 'racist views' or views 'beyond the pale,' but added that was not the case with Skinner.
