A handful of Strictly Come Dancing’s longest-serving professionals are “at risk” of being axed from the show as the BBC looks towards “a fresh start”.
After a wave of allegations surfaced about the behaviour of the show’s professional dancers earlier this year, reports suggest that bosses intend to bring a new generation of younger ballroom dancers to freshen up its image – leaving five names at risk of being dropped.
According to The Sun, those at risk of being dropped are reportedly some of the show’s longest-standing pros, including Nadiya Bychkova, who joined the show in 2017, Neil Jones (2016), Karen Hauer (2012), Gorka Marquez (2016) and Katya Jones (2016).
Four of them have already been eliminated from this year’s competition, with Jones, who is competing with Wynne Evans, the only one remaining.
Younger professionals, such as Jowita Pryzstal, who is partnered with Pete Wicks, Vito Coppola, who is dancing with Sarah Hadland are continuing to dazzle viewers. Another professional said to be safe from the alleged shake-up is Nikita Kuzmin, who was eliminated with his celebrity partner Sam Quek at the weekend.
It is thought that the BBC is looking to the next generation of dancers to refresh Strictly’s image after a series of allegations that have continued to rock the show during its 20th anniversary series.
Earlier this year, Amanda Abbington made a series of allegations about the behaviour of pro Giovanni Pernice, who she danced with in last year’s series, forcing the BBC to drop him from the 2024 series and launch a formal investigation. Another long-standing professional, Graziano Di Prima, was also axed from the series over allegations regarding his treatment of his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
Pernice has denied the allegations against him while Di Prima said he “deeply regrets” the events that led to his Strictly departure.
A source told The Sun: “The review of the line-up has always been about making a fresh start, and that was always going to be affected by which dancers performed well this series.
“The feeling is that the Strictly troupe is made up of some fading stars, while others are rising stars.”
“And in many cases there are certain characters whose shoes can easily be filled with younger, up-and-coming counterparts. It’s harsh but it’s just part of the traditional turnover of showbusiness.”
The BBC declined to comment.
Professional dancer Johannes Radebe, who joined the show in 2018, is also thought to be exiting the series in 2025, as sources claim his schedule is too busy to fit in a return to the ballroom, with the dancer starring in Kinky Boots: The Musical for the first half of 2025, while he works on a film adaptation of his life story.
