Joe McFadden on Loose Women
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Joe McFadden rubbishes “nonsense” claim he’s fallen out with Strictly producers

He had a simple reason for not being at the launch show

Former Strictly Come Dancing winner Joe McFadden has rubbished claims he refused to appear on the show after falling out with producers.

The actor laughed at the “nonsense” allegation when quizzed about it on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women.

Traditionally, the winner of the last Strictly series will be invited to perform on the new series launch show, which took place earlier this month.

Read more: Strictly star admits demands of show left her in tears

But Joe and his pro dance partner Katya Jones bucked the trend and didn’t show up. That (of course!) led to rumblings of a falling out between Joe and producers.

But appearing on Loose Women, Joe said that was “nonsense” and he had a simple reason for being absent: he had been in Scotland for a friend’s wedding!

Nadia Sawalha said: “There was a bit of fuss in the papers saying you’d fallen out with producers and that was why you weren’t at the opening?”

Joe McFadden on Loose Women
Joe said he’d been at a friend’s wedding on the day of the Strictly launch which is why he couldn’t attend (Credit: ITV)

Joe laughed: “Nonsense! You don’t believe that, do you? I was at my friend’s wedding in Glasgow.”

“Nigella [Lawson] was there and Richard Madden [from Bodyguard],” he added. “It was quite a starry wedding! He was doing a reading and I was singing at my best friend’s wedding. That was great.

“I was at a wedding, there was no falling out at all.”

Joe added that he’ll have to hand back the big Glitterball Trophy to Strictly this year so the eventual new winner can have it, but he’s got a miniature version to keep forever.

“The big trophy with everyone’s name on it gets passed on to the next people but you get a little one,” he said. “It’s next to my Pointless Celebrities trophy!”

Joe added he thinks this year’s Strictly is “absolutely brilliant”, saying: “It’s the same every year. There are those who are amazing from the get-go and the standard is really high and then the ones who will get better and better.”

Read more: Brendan Cole criticises Strictly judge’s “irrelevant” remark

While some former Strictly contestants admit feeling jealous when the new series starts, Joe said he isn’t one of them!

“I was out with Debbie McGee the other night and we both said we aren’t jealous in the slightest because we know what they have to go through. They go on stage on Saturday night and make it look easy and polished but we know the blood, sweat and tears they have to go through to get there.”

Joe is about to hit the road in chilling new play, The House on Cold Hill.

Written by best-selling author Peter James, the play revolves around a family who move into the house of their dreams, an old dilapidated mansion, only to find out they aren’t alone…

“We are going all round the country from four months in January, we start in Dartford and go all around the country. We have some brilliant actors in it like Charlie Clements, who was Bradley in EastEnders.”

Find out more information on The House on Cold Hill here.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor