Ex Strictly star fumes over Shirley Ballas awarding first 10 of the series

Strictly Come Dancing's head judge, Shirley Ballas, has called this series 'difficult' following Amanda Abbington's exit as she shared her thoughts on It Takes Two. Sherlock actress Amanda left Strictly earlier this week, when Fleur East confirmed: "Amanda Abbington is unable to continue in Strictly Come Dancing and has decided to withdraw from the competition.The show wishes her all the best for the future." Speaking on It Takes Two, Shirley shared her thoughts on the 2023 contestants as she said: "The class of 2023, the magic is always in the mix and the BBC definitely got the mix right this year didn't they? "It's a very, very difficult series.

Karen Hauer has shared a rather cryptic personal update while taking part in an Instagram Q&A. The professional dancer, who stars on the popular BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, addressed fan questions amid her reported split from husband Jordan Wyn-Jones. One fan asked the dancer: "How are you doing?" to which she rather cryptically replied: "I'm OK I think." Another of Karen's followers asked what her favourite book is, leading to her recommending Lighter by Yung Pueblo, a non-fiction book that encourages the reader to "let go of the past", which she labelled her "fav book at the moment" and rated five stars.

A Dancing on Ice couple has revealed they have quit the show, as they hit out at the 'stressful' environment. Alexandra Schauman from Finland, 43, and Lukasz Rozycki from Poland, 44, have been married for 15 years.

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has accused the show’s judges of planning their scores in advance after this weekend’s show.The 45 year old has got involved in the ongoing “fix” row that surrounds the TV show, as he admitted he didn’t agree with a lot of the judge's ratings on Saturday, 21 October.Taking to X, formally known as Twitter, James said that it was like judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas “watch the rehearsals.” He tweeted: “It’s almost like the judges watch the rehearsals - decide their scores - but when things go wrong, they don’t know what to do.” One of the moments that seemed to grab James’ attention was when Nigel Harman made several mistakes in his routine and even admitted to “making up” part of it, but still got relatively high scores. Nigel and his partner Katya Jones scored 29 out of 40, higher than some of the celebrities who made fewer mistakes than him.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has claimed she's eaten the same meal backstage of the iconic BBC show for the last six years in a bid to keep slim as she spoke out on her strict eating habits and how she stays in shape.

Former Strictly Come Dancing pro James Jordan has taken aim at the BBC series, as he launched a scathing attack on the show's judges.The 45 year old pro dancer, who is married to Ola Jordan, also a dancer, has said that the reason he's never been asked to join the Strictly judging panel is because he's "not a puppet". Currently, the panel includes head judge Shirley Ballas, dancer Motsi Mabuse, former Strictly pro Anton Du Beke, as well as the notoriously hard-faced Craig Revel Horwood. But James, who left Strictly as a pro dancer in 2013, claims that the judges are "told what to say" by producers - and will often use their scores and comments to influence where stars land on the leaderboard.

Peter Andre and his wife Emily delighted their fans last week by revealing they're expecting their third child together. And today, NHS doctor Emily, 34, opened up about a particular drink she was forced to give up when she first discovered she was pregnant again, after being left unable to digest it.Taking to Instagram today, the mum-of-three-to-be shared a snap on her story of a half-drunk takeaway cup of coffee.

Strictly fans have shown their support for Karen Hauer after her live show performance on Saturday night, amid reports that she has 'split' from her husband, Jordan Wyn-Jones.The professional dancer took to the dance floor with her celebrity partner Eddie Kadie over the weekend, however, their routine failed to wow the judges as they received a score of 24 out of 40. Fans of the show expressed their concern for Karen, as many took to social media to ask if she's 'ok' as she appeared to be putting on a brave face during her appearance on the show.Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one person said: "[heart emoji] goes out to Karen ,she held her self & dance together after reading her sad news #StrictlyComeDancing." Another said: "Karen did well #StrictlyComeDancing," whilst a third wrote: "Is Karen ok? Her expression is off — did he accidentally injure her, did she hurt herself, is something wrong with her dress? She looked - immediately after the routine, before the feedback - upset." A fourth queried: "What was wrong with Karen? She didn't look herself at all," whilst a third said: "Something gone wrong with Eddie & Karen.

Strictly Coming Dancing star Karen Hauer has reportedly split from her husband, Jordan Wyn-Jones, following a "tough time in the past few months".The professional dancer, 41, and Jordan tied the knot in June last year with their ceremony described as a "fairytale" at the time. Sources have now claimed the pair have called quits on their relationship after 16 months of marriage. A source told the Mirror: "Karen and Jordan have had a tough time in the past few months and decided to split.

Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Hauer has reportedly split from her husband, Jordan Wyn-Jones. Karen, who married Jordan in June last year, was seen attending the Pride of Britain Awards last week without her wedding ring.The Mirror reports that Strictly's longest-serving professional dancer has decided to call it quits with her other half. A source told the paper: "Karen and Jordan have had a tough time in the past few months and decided to split.

Karen Hauer has reportedly split from her husband Jordan Wyn-Jones after just one year of marriage.

Shirley Ballas was forced to backtrack on telling women they should carry Tasers to protect themselves.The Strictly Come Dancing judge suggested that woman should carry the weapon but later apologised when she was informed that they are illegal for personal use.The 63-year-old had not realised that Tasers, which can shock people with a 50,000 volt charge, are only allowed to be used by trained police in the UK. She made the comments on BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour, when she said: "All women in today's society should become more vigilant. It's important that people take care of themselves, maybe carry Tasers, things like that.

Shirley Ballas has clapped back at claims she was 'drinking' before the latest live episode of Strictly Come Dancing after her scores were questioned. The BBC One dance contest's head judge faced some backlash over her scoring following movie week in the ballroom.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed she is being more 'cautious' about her own personal safety since the alleged Holly Willoughby's 'kidnap plot'. Holly Willoughby is currently on 'indefinite leave' from This Morning following an alleged plot to 'kidnap and murder' her. Gavin Plumb appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Friday, 6 October, charged with soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap of the star.

Bets are already being placed left, right and centre in the celebrity arena as to who is most likely to walk away from the ongoing series of Strictly Come Dancing holding the glitterball trophy. And following a second shock elimination this weekend, the odds of a win are getting higher for the remaining contestants. Catching up with OK! this week, former Strictly star and The One Show frontwoman Alex Jones exclusively predicted who she thinks will bag the top spot this year, and plans to meet up with the potential winner soon to offer them some words of wisdom.

While some stars give the impression they’re effortlessly balancing a full-time career with the demands of parenthood, we can always rely on The One Show’s Alex Jones for a refreshing reality check. Sure enough, as mum to sons Edward (aka Teddy), five, and Kit, three, and one-year-old daughter Annie, she describes her life right now as a mammoth “juggling act”. Alex is live on air most weeknights at 7pm, which means missing out on valuable family time.

Strictly Come Dancing is famous for conjuring strong bonds between the professional dancers and their celebrity partners – but in Eddie Kadi’s case, it’s head judge Shirley Ballas who has captured his heart.The comic, 40, who is partnered with Karen Hauer, blew Shirley a kiss during show one and was thrilled to get one back. In show two, Shirley praised Eddie’s “thrust”. Now he says they have a “connection”.

Bobby Brazier was supported by rarely-seen brother Freddie at Saturday night's Strictly Come Dancing.The EastEnders actor, 20, son of the late Jade Goody, is impressing the judges every week with his boundless enthusiasm and dance skill and is one of the contenders to win the show. This week, 7 October, Bobby danced a samba to Young Hearts Run Free from the film version of Romeo + Juliet with his partner Dianne Buswell, 34, and they scored an impressive 32 for their Movie Week performance.

James Jordan has offered his view on Strictly Come Dancing's fix row, warning celebrities who want to give the show a go that they won't stand a chance if they are not already trained dancers.The BBC One contest is only just heading into the third week of live shows, but is already facing a familiar controversy with critics complaining that some of the celebrity contestants have a huge advantage as they have had professional training in the past. Coming under fire this year are actor Layton Williams, who has starred in the West End and worked as a dancer, and TV presenter Angela Scanlon who used to perform with the O'Shea Irish Dance Company.

Strictly Come Dancing professional Nancy Xu has been 'snubbed' by a former pro following Les Dennis' shock exit from the competition.