BEFORE this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing kicked off, the show was plunged into a bullying crisis that resulted in the departure of two of its most popular professional dancers.
Now, with the series in full swing, many fans have been left wondering if it’s the most cursed ever after an avalanche of scandals and misfortunes.
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This week, it was reported that head judge Shirley Ballas, 64, has split from her toyboy partner Danny Taylor, 51.
Their break up comes six months after she confirmed they were still together despite calling off their engagement.
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A source told The Sun: “She gave her all to that relationship and in the end came to the realisation that it wasn’t going anywhere.”
They added that distance was ultimately the reason they decided to call it quits – Shirley is based in London while Danny lives in Liverpool.
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But Shirley’s heartbreak is just one of several incidents this year, making it quite possibly Strictly’s most cursed series.
Amy pulls out
Amy Dowden suffered her own ‘heartbreak’ last week when she was forced to pull out of this year’s series on medical grounds.
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The 34-year-old Welsh dancer, who battled cancer for 18 months, had a health scare when she collapsed backstage during Halloween Week after dancing the foxtrot with her partner JB Gill.
Show bosses had to call the fire service to Elstree Studios after Amy’s collapse.
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Her condition was so serious that specialist equipment had to be used to help her to an ambulance while keeping her completely flat.
It was later confirmed that she would not return for the rest of the series.
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Lauren Oakley, 33, has been tapped to step in and dance with JB for the rest of his time on the show.
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In an emotional statement, Amy said: “My heart is breaking right now. The past few months I finally felt like me again.
“Cancer was no longer the first thing I thought of when I woke up. It was choreography, music choices, which dances in which order, what we needed to work on. I felt free again.”
Backstage feuds
This year, the show has been plagued with claims of a backstage feud between some of the professional dancers.
Over the weekend, it emerged that former best friends Nancy Xu, 33, and Carlos Gu, 31, had dramatically fallen out, in a huge blow to the show’s dance troupe.
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The pair unfollowed each other on social media and are no longer on speaking terms.
They both grew up in China and became close pals, with Carlos calling her his “favourite sister”. Nancy also used to say he was her “baby brother”.
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They are not the only dancers who are embroiled in a backstage rift.
Former lovers Nadiya Bychkova, 35, and Kai Widdrington, 29, are also said to be avoiding each other after they shockingly broke up earlier this year.
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When asked about the current state of their relationship after the series started, Nadiya said: “We work together but we are not friends, and that’s okay.”
But backstage sources have now said the two have even refused to stand next to each other during group segments.
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Freak injuries
Last week, it was reported that Nadiya had been injured after a freak accident.
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It happened during rehearsals for a show when the Ukrainian dancer, who was partnered with Olympic athlete Tom Dean this year, fell and fractured a bone in her thumb.
An insider said: “Her thumb snapped, and the pain was intense. Everyone rushed to her side. Though her thumb is swollen and bruised, she’s determined to perform.”
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Despite performing an entertaining samba on a recent live show, few viewers knew that Chris McCausland, 47, had recently sprained his wrist.
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In his Strictly diary for The Daily Telegraph, Chris revealed he wore a wrist support for his mild sprain, which the show’s physiotherapist had approved for dancing.
DIY SOS host Nick Knowles, 62, also fell victim to this year’s curse after he was forced to withdraw from Movie Week after injuring his shoulders and knees during rehearsals.
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Attempting to execute a jump resulted in knee damage that left him depending on crutches and needing an MRI scan.
Before this, he had already injured his shoulder while changing a car tyre away from show rehearsals.
After his exit from the show, Nick filmed the video above and told his social media followers he was in the hospital for surgery.
‘Munters’ scandal
In a case of the past coming back to haunt him, Nick found himself in hot water in October after it was claimed that he made an offensive comment about women.
While filming DIY:SOS The Big Build in 2018, a woman alleged Nick had a sleazy chat with her and said women in the North East were “munters”.
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She also claimed that the BBC favourite ogled her breast while interviewing her, leaving her feeling embarrassed and mortified.
The support worker claimed Nick showed up for filming with a hangover and even had to have a nap in his van.
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She told The Sun: “I was mortified. He humiliated me in a very personal way in front of the whole crew. It was offensive. He was in his late 50s. He was being so inappropriate and I felt belittled.
Has Strictly lost its magic?
The show has suffered a series of set backs this year.
STRICTLY bosses are said to be worried the show has lost its mojo after a string of scandals and low viewership.
For four weeks, the show experienced a dip in fans tuning in as compared to last year’s episodes.
Fans online have been complaining that BBC’s flagship entertainment show’s yearly line up feels like a familiar mix.
The show’s outcomes also feels predictable, according to dissatisfied viewers.
This year, the excitement that often comes before a new series was overshadowed by investigations into former show pros Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.
While Giovanni was probed for bad behaviour towards his former celebrity dance partner Amanda Abbington, Graziano was scrutinised for kicking Zara McDermott on last year’s show.
Many have argued that the fallout from the scandals negatively impacted viewers’ perception of Strictly.
“I had been looking forward to meeting him and he ruined the whole experience for me.”
The woman, who asked not to be identified also added that Nick, who is engaged to Katie Dadzie, did not touch her or make a pass.
Wynne and Katya’s awkward moment
Last month, a clip of Katya Jones pushing Wynne Evans‘ hand away from her midriff went viral, with fans expressing concern.
In another clip, Katya appears to roll her eyes after Wynne tries to high-five her, leading viewers to believe that all is not well between the two.
However, when the pair heard about the backlash on social media, they quickly issued a video claiming that the incident was an “inside joke.”
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In the video below, Katya doubled down on the claim, saying: “The hand incident that happened on Sunday night was indeed a very silly inside joke.
“So even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in anyway is complete nonsense.”
However, sceptical fans who did not buy their explanation demanded to know what the joke was.
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The pair have also been accused of trying too hard to convince viewers that they are friends off the show.
Declining viewership
As if the show had not been plunged into enough crisis this year, TV viewership data shows that the series has seen a massive dip.
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The series’ first live episode peaked at 6.7 million viewers, a drop from last year’s 7.3 million and significantly below the 10.2 million in 2020.
A source said: “Strictly bosses were worried enough by the pre-recorded launch show.
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“But the fact that the first live show saw a drop too will be of concern to them — particularly if the drop continues into next week, which is the first elimination show.
“They now face an anxious wait to see whether the drop in on-the-night viewers is made up for by an increase in fans watching Strictly on iPlayer, but those figures take days and weeks to compile.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
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They continued: “These live figures really matter to the Beeb, because Strictly is still seen as one of the few shows that provide the shared TV experience where people come together to watch a programme at a set time.”
The show has consistently lost a significant chunk of its viewership compared to previous years, some dipping as low as nearly two million viewers.
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