A former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing has claimed that he sometimes found it difficult to ‘be in the same studio’ as his celebrity partners.
Brendan Cole, who won the inaugural Strictly series with Natasha Kaplinsky, left the show in 2018, but not before earning a few enemies.
His remarks come after Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice were forced to refute claims of a ‘feud’ on set last week.
Brendan, a dancer on the programme for almost a decade, allegedly departed under a cloud after being’shocked’ that his contract was not renewed.
He’s now claimed that he ‘hated’ some of his celebrity dance partners while working on the series, and that he couldn’t be near them on occasion.
‘I’ve had that twice really strongly, where we couldn’t even be in the same studio together,’ he said, admitting that he didn’t always get on with his co-stars.
‘You spend such a lot of time together, it’s so intense. The time you spend together in the studio – sometimes for hours,’ he told Sky Bingo.
He continued: ‘I really enjoyed working with half of them and I really hated working with the other half. 60/40 and I’m not sure which way that goes either.’
During his stint on the show, he collaborated with celebrities such as journalist Natasha, model and actress Kelly Brook, singer Lulu, and presenter Sunetra Sarker.
Who has Brendan been partnered with on Strictly Come Dancing?
- Natasha Kaplinsky
- Sarah Manners
- Fiona Phillips
- Claire King
- Kelly Brook
- Lisa Snowdon
- Jo Wood
- Michelle Williams
- Lulu
- Victoria Pendleton
- Sophie Ellis-Bextor
- Sunetra Sarker
- Kirsty Gallacher
- Anastacia
- Charlotte Hawkins
Celebrity competitors have previously claimed to ‘weeping every day’ after working with the tough experts on the show.
Laura Whitmore of Love Island stated she was ‘broken psychologically and physically’ after working with Giovanni every day for weeks and finished ninth in 2016.
Laura was coupled with Giovanni, who eventually won the competition in 2021 with Rose Ayling-Ellis.
Zara McDermott disclosed ahead of week two on Saturday that what started as a minor blister on her toe has now evolved into a much worse issue.
She said on her Instagram stories: ‘I just have to let you all know that half my toe has come off – that’s half my toe!’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday at 6.20pm.
