Brendan Cole might have had a reputation for pushing his Strictly Come Dancing partners to the edge due to his fiery competitiveness, but he insists that this was a result of BBC manipulation.
The professional dancer, 45, insists that this image was a result of BBC bosses only showing one side of him on the show for 15 years.
Brendan has now jumped ship from the BBC show over to rival ITV's Dancing on Ice and has a solid chance of taking home the trophy in the final tonight.
The New Zealand born dancer has said that the ITV show has given him the opportunity to show 'the real me' and complained that he was forced to play a 'tiring' character by previous bossed.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: "I came on Dancing on Ice hoping to show people that Strictly only showed one side of me. They pushed that narrative for 15 series and it was tiring. That's actually not me. I muck around a lot and that wasn't shown - but it is being shown on Dancing on Ice. We’ve all been shown in really lovely lights.
“I'm not fiercely competitive. I'm competitive with myself. If I get something wrong or do something that's not where I can be then I'm immensely peed off with myself.
"If I win or lose it doesn't matter - but it is nice to win don't get me wrong. This show has been a really wonderful experience to be a part of and enjoy."
Brendan recently made headlines with his dancing partner Vanessa Bauer who was surprised to be partnered up with him due to their 20 year age gap.
The 25-year-old said that she was used to being paired up with dancers closer to her in age, but that Brendan was her perfect partner.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: "The producers really surprised me with the partnership because there is a 20-year age gap.
“I didn’t expect to be with Brendan when obviously there were young guys, like I was partnered with in previous years. I was worried at first that we wouldn’t bond, but because we’re both performers and I’m a mature 25-year-old, I’m comfortable.
"Brendan is like a kid at heart — it shows on the ice as well, as he throws himself at everything I’m showing him and he doesn’t hesitate to jump.
“He falls and gets up and it amazes me how his 45-year-old body can handle so much strain. He says all the time that he has toned up. You can see it as well — he has lost a lot of weight."
Although she'd heard rumours of his fiery temperament, Vanessa said that she hadn't found it to be an issue.
