Taking part in Strictly Come Dancing may be a sequinned joy for many, but it can also be highly pressurised for the professionals, the celebs and even the judges.
Putting in hours of intensive training, learning to dance in front of millions of people, and receiving critiques are all part of the experience, and throw in some healthy egos and it’s no wonder that tempers can fray.
Since it first aired in 2004, Strictly fans have seen some very bitter feuds rage both behind the scenes and on-camera as the talent have clashed in many series, from dance critique disagreements to “taskmaster” pros.
Here are some of the worst Strictly fallouts from over the years.
Fiona Phillips v Brendan Cole
Former GMTV presenter Fiona, 60, was paired with Brendan in series three of Strictly in 2005.
In 2020 Fiona told the Daily Star: “Brendan was a real b*gger, actually. He wasn’t very nice. He was really naughty.”
Fiona has since admitted that she had too much going on at work and at home at the time, and regrets doing the show, admitting to the Mirror that she “was self-conscious and wasn’t very good” during the competition.
However, she also said that Brendan was a “rough old taskmaster” and she didn’t like that she became a “comedy type figure” on the show.
Pro dancer Brendan was dropped from Strictly in January 2018 after reportedly clashing with show bosses.
Fiona continued: “He’s not on the show now. Karma indeed. It works its way every time.” Ouch.
Shirley Ballas v Brendan Cole
Fiery Brendan was unafraid to challenge the judges during his lengthy tenure as a Strictly professional.
He mocked Shirley in her first week as head judge – the role he’d had his eye on.
Appearing on BBC2 show It Takes Two, when Zoe Ball asked if he was hoping to impress the newcomer, he sniped, “I’d imagine she’s more likely to be wanting to impress us, I’ve been on the show 15 years, she’s just showed up.”
He quickly saw the “error of my ways” and fired off an apology – which he said went unanswered.
“I sent her a message saying, ‘Didn’t mean any offence, just making good telly’. I didn’t get a reply,” he said in John Bishop: In Conversation With.
However, Shirley – who routinely annoyed Brendan with her critiques of his last celebrity partner Charlotte Hawkins – told Hello! magazine: “I don’t have any recollection on a personal level of bridges ever being broken or rebuilt between me and Brendan.”
Brendan was dropped from the BBC show for the following series, and he shared his devastation on Lorraine, saying: “It’s quite, actually, hard to talk about.
“The BBC haven’t renewed my contract. We get contracted year upon year. They’ve made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I’m a little bit in shock. I’m quite emotional, a bit raw about it”
He continued: “I’m disappointed. It’s very hard to talk about. It’s a recent decision.”
A source later told the Sun that show bosses dropped the dance following his on-air clash with Shirley, with the insider claiming: “The judges felt he was putting her down publicly and he thought he knew better than the head judge.
“They thought it was totally disrespectful.”
Gorka Marquez v Kevin Clifton
It’s hard to believe, but Gorka wasn’t given a celebrity partner in 2019.
Fellow pro Kevin had reportedly ignored Gorka’s ‘demotion’ but sent messages of comfort to their co-star Graziano, who was in the same boat.
He told Graziano on social media: “Mate, my sister was the same in her second series.
“In her third series, she won! You’re one of the best dancers I know so get ready to OWN 2020!” but did not appear to send Gorka any message of support, despite Gorka tweeting about his lack of partner.
The popular pro was seemingly then very put out when Kevin Clifton was drafted into partner ex-England footballer Alex Scott after her partner Neil Jones injured himself in training.
Kevin and his celeb partner Anneka Rice had already been eliminated from the competition in week two.
Making his feelings known, Gorka retweeted a series of angry fan messages including one that read, “Gorka deserved it not Kevin who already had a partner this year.”
Neither of the pair have ever addressed any row between them and Kevin later quit the show in 2020.
Craig Revel Horwood v James and Ola Jordan
James and Craig clashed constantly before James quit after being offered a reduced role.
Things escalated after Craig critiqued James’ wife Ola’s raunchy Christmas calendar, commenting that images of the former Strictly pro “pouring milk all over herself with her legs spread” might not be the right look.
James branded him “vile”, raging, “How can he say it’s not okay to sell a sexy Christmas calendar, but it is okay to sell his own book telling the world he was a drunken rent boy, and call it All Balls and Glitter.”
Craig then accused James of trying to drum up headlines, and last year James told the Daily Star: “The show doesn’t need Craig. He should go.
“If Craig was gone they wouldn’t notice any difference at all. The viewers wouldn’t miss him either. No-one would miss him.”
Craig has remained on the show since, and the pair have never appeared to built bridges.
Laura Whitmore and Giovanni Pernice
Love Island host Laura wrote a heartfelt blog on HuffPost UK in 2018 covering a range of issues including #MeToo.
Also referring to her time on Strictly, she discussed being paired with professional dance partner Giovanni. Laura alluded to the press interest at the time, which stemmed from his recent break-up with Corrie actress Georgia May Foote.
“I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show,” she wrote.
“I love dancing – I topped the leaderboard twice – but before it even began, I was thrown into the lion’s den and into the middle of someone’s break-up that had nothing to do with me. Once again, I was a ‘rumoured love interest’.
“I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with – and in the end I felt broken. I cried every day. And I really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
