Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole has defended his criticism of Welsh dancer Amy Dowden, saying he did not consider her cancer diagnosis when making his remarks.
Cole appeared on Channel 5's Jeremy Vine programme alongside former colleague James Jordan, where presenter Jeremy Vine directly questioned him about his critique of Dowden, who was the first contestant eliminated from this year's show with celebrity partner Chris Appleton.
Cole's original comments
Cole, who left the programme in 2017, had previously said: "To be a pro on Strictly is a big job and one has to be up to the challenge. Amy has not been up to the challenge, in my opinion."
He added: "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."
Cole also claimed he could spot Dowden, 36, "counting in" her partners, which he said signalled the "job has not been done".
Dowden's response
Dowden, who confirmed she was cancer-free in February 2024 after being diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer the year before, told the Mirror: "I'll be honest, what do you expect from him? It's fine. I've never been brought up to be personal, and in this day and age especially I think it's so important to be kind, and to think about the next generation."
She added: "I always try to use my platform in the right way. I work with various charities. But also I want to be the right kind of role model. I run a dance academy and all my little boys and girls really look up to me. That's important."
Cole's defence on Jeremy Vine
Addressing the issue for the first time on Friday's show, Cole said: "I haven't spoken about this, by the way, because actually I didn't want to make a big deal of it, it's not a big deal."
He explained: "I didn't mention the fact she had cancer. I didn't even think about it when I made my comments about whether she was good enough on the show or not. I'm paid to speak about the show and you give your points of view for every couple."
Cole continued: "I was asked the question 'was it right Amy went at the weekend' and I said 'yes it was, absolutely'. She wasn't doing a particularly good job of late."
When pressed by Vine on whether the cancer had crossed his mind, Cole said: "If I'm critiquing somebody that's got one leg, I don't go 'I'm going to have to go lenient on them because they've got one leg'. If you're in a competition, you're in a competition."
He added: "To go on the record, I love Amy, I think she's a lovely girl, she's a beautiful dancer, I didn't think she did a particularly good job on the show this year. That was my point. I didn't think about the fact she had survived cancer."
Cole also reflected on his own time on the show, saying: "I performed 150, 200 routines on the show throughout my 15 series. Were all of the dances good? Absolutely not. I was not brilliant every single week. I was pretty good most weeks but there were definitely weeks I let myself down and I probably let my partner down, that's just the way it goes - we cannot be brilliant all the time."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Jeremy Vine is on Channel 5 on weekdays.
