Les Dennis, a former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, is said to have been’moody and unstable’ before being fired off the competition.
The 69-year-old Family Fortunes actor was one of the renowned faces cast in the new season of the BBC dance series before being the first to be eliminated last week.
Les and his professional dancing partner Nancy Xu were ousted by the judges after being placed in the dreaded dance-off against radio personality Nikita Kanda and her partner Gorka Márquez.
Les praised his experience on the show as “the best,” before complimenting Nancy for being “amazing” and a “great teacher.”
However, it is now alleged that the two were fighting while the cameras were not filming.
According to show sources, the dancing team failed to ‘gel’ backstage because Les’ enthusiasm levels didn’t match Nancy’s and the TV personality was ‘going through the motions’.
‘Les the entertainer may have charmed audiences with his style, but behind the scenes it was a vastly different story,’ they said.
‘Les was often moody and erratic because he found the training a very draining process.
‘He’s almost 70 so was knackered just two weeks in and this led to clashes with Nancy,’ they added when speaking to The Sun.
They continued: ‘They never really fell out, they were always respectful to each other, but it felt like Les was just going through the motions.
‘His mood didn’t match Nancy’s enthusiasm and positivity which created tension and discord in the studio.’
The source said Les would become ‘frustrated at the slightest misstep and would lose his cool’, while Nancy was ‘very patient and encouraging which only rankled Les even more’.
‘They were just polar opposites,’ they said.
It was said that Les’ ‘temperament’ had ‘made it impossible for them to gel and it showed on the night’.
While Nancy was believed to be sad that she did not advance to the next week, her boyfriend was evidently relieved that it was all done.
When he was announced as part of the line- up, Les said he was ‘excited but terrified’.
However, he wanted to prove that ‘people of any age can do anything’.
Les and Nancy competed in the dance-off with a Samba to Hues Corporation’s Rock The Boat, while Nikita and Gorka did a Charleston to Beyoncé’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:20pm on BBC One.
