BBC
News

Brendan Cole’s message to Strictly’s returning pros

The show original will not return for this year's series

Brendan Cole has sent his congratulations to all returning and new Strictly Come Dancing professionals for this year.

The 42-year-old was axed from Strictly back in January but showed there are no hard feelings by publicly supporting the 2018 line-up.

Brendan replied to a message sent by Strictly pro Karen Clifton, saying she was sad to see both Brendan and fellow pro Chloe Hewitt leaving the show.

Read more: Strictly confirms another pro dancer has left the show

He responded: “You are a beautiful soul KC! Thanks gorgeous. And congrats to you and all of the #SCD Pro’s and of course to the newbies joining for series 16 (sic).”

Brendan then cheekily added: “I will be sending mischievous vibes to you all throughout and I’m still coming drinking after August rehearsals.”

His tweets led to a new barrage of responses from fans still gutted that Brendan won’t be on Strictly anymore.

Brendan confirmed his departure from Strictly during an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine in January, saying he was shocked and gutted not to have been invited back.

He said: “This is quite hard to talk about. The BBC haven’t renewed my contract – we get renewed year on year – and they made an editorial decision not to have me back on the show.

“I’m a little bit in shock. I’m quite emotional, a bit raw about it.”

In response, Strictly issued a statement saying: “We’d like to thank Brendan Cole for being part of the show since the beginning – winner of the first series – and for the contribution he has made to its success.

“We wish him all the very best for the future.”

Strictly has since confirmed pro dancer Chloe Hewitt has also left the programme, having joined in 2016. She was never paired with a celebrity but did appear in group numbers.

Instagram @chloehewitt27
Chloe Hewitt has left Strictly (Credit: Instagram @chloehewitt27)

Three new dancers have been brought in for 2018: Italian Latin Champion Graziano Di Prima, professional South African Latin Champion Johannes Radebe and four-time winner of the Italian Dance Championship, Russian-born Luba Mushtuk.

Luba has been part of the Strictly family since 2016, working as an assistant choreographer, while Johannes has been a pro on Strictly South Africa for two years.

With two out and three in, there will be 18 professional dancers on Strictly’s roster, which is the most in the show’s history.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjZRykQAazd/?hl=en&taken-by=bbcstrictly

The returning pro dancers for 2018 are Anton Du Beke, Gorka Marquez, Karen Clifton, Kevin Clifton, Aljaž Škorjanec, AJ Pritchard, Giovanni Pernice, Janette Manrara, Pasha Kovalev, Oti Mabuse and Katya Jones.

Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova and Neil Jones will also return.

Don’t miss out: Three steps to ensure you see all ED!’s latest news on Facebook


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

Related Topics