Brendan Cole has questioned Strictly Come Dancing bosses over why some professional dancers do not land celebrity partners year after year, following his recent criticism of Amy Dowden.
The former Strictly star, 50, was axed from the show in 2018 but has continued to share his views on the competition. Earlier this month, he said that 'I don't think Amy's been doing a very good job for the last few years', despite her returning to the show in 2024 after beating breast cancer.
Amy responded to his comments, accusing him of seeking 'the attention he so desperately craves'.
Brendan's concerns over professional dancers
Speaking to The Sun, Brendan said: 'Compared to when I was on the show, they now have many more professional dancers in the background, in the big group numbers, propping up the show.'
'What that does to the professionals who do have partners is give them uncertainty, and when you're uncertain about your position, you make different decisions about how you react to things and what's being asked of you.'
Brendan, who was a professional on the show from its launch in 2004 until 2017, said he had never faced the same uncertainty during his time on the programme.
Strictly insider responds
'In my day, my job was secure. Every year I came back and I had a partner, and if they'd told me, "By the way, we're not sure if you'll have a partner next year, we'll let you know," I would have told them "thank you very much, I won't be returning",' he said.
'It's not like that anymore. Now they have a pool of dancers they can pluck from obscurity, so they can keep things as they want them without any mutiny.'
This year's series has seen four professionals, Neil Jones, Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori and Lethabo Monametsi, take part in group routines without being paired with a celebrity.
A Strictly insider, however, pushed back against the suggestion, telling the publication: 'Partnerships for a series are selected following the first day of the celebrity cast's training, when the pros and celebs all meet and dance together for the first time.'
'This means it's not possible to know which pros will get partners in any given series, because the pros sign up for a series months in advance.'
'It wouldn't be fair to tell a pro that they were going to get a partner only for there not to be a partner for them when the series begins – therefore no guarantees are made in advance.'
Amy's response
Responding to Brendan's comments about her, Amy previously 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.'
'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.'
Metro has contacted the BBC for comment.
