Tension is reportedly building among the professional Strictly Come Dancing dancers, as two Russian stars are urged to condemn Putin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Reports suggest that there's calls for Katya Jones and Luba Mushtuk, from Russia, to end their silence over the Putin's violence or "never come back".
Two of their fellow professionals, Nikita Kuzmin and Nadiya, are Ukrainian.
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“Tensions are high and there’s a lot of strong feeling about this," The Sun reports a source as saying. They added: “Some of the dancers would want producers to make a decision and say ‘You can’t come back for the next series’.”
A source said the pair's silence has led to a "bad taste" on the show.
The source continued: "It’s been discussed among a group of them and they are concerned about it affecting the programme and causing a backlash."
Ex-pro James Jordan savaged Russian pros on the show for staying silent a fortnight ago.
Jordan, the ITV Dancing on Ice champ, wrote: "I don’t see many of the Russian dancers I know and have even shared the Strictly dance floor with them [sic] openly speaking out about the war against Ukraine. But [they] are still promoting themselves on social media – very disappointed."
He also added: "They know who they are – not 1 post about it."
Head judge Shirley Ballas also had her say, taking to Instagram to compel her Strictly pros to stop promoting themselves as the crisis unfolds.
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