Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers have been reportedly told by their co-stars to condemn Russia or 'never come back' to the BBC show.
Katya Jones, 32, and Luba Mushtuk, 32 who both hail from Russia, are being urged by their dancing colleagues to speak out against the horrifying Russian invasion of Ukraine, or face the axe from the Saturday night show, according to The Sun.
The outlet suggests there is a divide between the rest of the Strictly dancers as fellow pros Nikita Kuzmin and Nadiya Bychkova are from Ukraine, and have family in the war-ravaged country.
Earlier this week, the 24-year-old dancer, who was born in Kyiv, shared his relief with his followers on Instagram after he revealed he had finally been reunited with his elderly grandmother who fled Ukraine following the globally-condemned invasion by Russian forces.
Katya and Luba are being told to end their silence over Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s actions, and some of the dancers have reportedly told show bosses they don’t want the pair to come back for the next series.
“Tensions are high and there’s a lot of strong feeling about this,” a source told The Sun, adding that Katya and Luba’s silence over the war has led to a “bad taste” between the dancers.
Mirror Online has reached out to a Strictly Come Dancing rep for comment.
The article comes just days after former Strictly pro dancer James Jordan took a savage swipe at the Russian professionals on the show, and slammed them for not speaking out on the atrocities in Ukraine.
“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 posted on Twitter.
“They know who they are – not 1 post about it,” he fired.
The outspoken star then became involved in a bitter clash with Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas, as she urged for unity rather than pointing fingers of blame amid the conflict.
“Dear James, not sure who you follow and who follows you. Many dancers I know have retweeted in support of Ukraine and have felt shame at their own government. Lots of help for their fellow dancers Lots have spoken out and retweeted,” she wrote, prompting James to allege she had originally agreed with his sentiments in a previous tweet.
Mirror Online has contacted the BBC for comment.
