BBC News presenter Peter Levy has admitted he feels sorry for Amy Dowden after she was partnered with Thomas Skinner for this year’s series of Strictly.
Despite mounting pressure to axe him from this line-up after he stormed out of the show’s press event earlier this month, the BBC have stood by Thomas.
And after Saturday’s launch it was revealed Thomas will be taking to the floor with the Welsh professional dancer as she makes her return to the dancefloor following her battle with breast cancer.
The dancer, 35, was partnered with JB Gill during last year’s series, however she sadly had to withdraw from the competition due to injury.
Taking to Twitter following the launch episode, BBC TV and radio presenter Peter, who fronts Look North, expressed his sympathies to Amy as he penned: ‘I feel sorry for Amy Dowden…’
And it seems plenty of fans agreed with the journalist as they took to the comments to share their thoughts.
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BBC presenter Peter Levy has admitted he feels sorry for Strictly’s Amy Dowden after she was partnered with Thomas Skinner on Saturday’s launch episode
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Despite mounting pressure to axe him from this line-up after he stormed out of the show’s press event earlier this month, the BBC have stood by Thomas (Peter Levy pictured)
They penned: ‘Don’t we all?; ‘Agree- she deserved a good celebrity this year, especially after her health battles. He’s not that!’;
‘We all do’; ‘She deserved better, with all she’s been through’; ‘she does not deserve this’;
‘We all do Peter, the producers did the dirty on her’.
Daily Mail have gone to both the BBC and Thomas Skinner’s representatives for comment.
Thomas has found himself at the centre of headlines in recent weeks after admitting to cheating on his wife just weeks after their wedding in May 2022. Claiming the ‘two week fling’ was a ‘moment of madness’.
However ‘secret mistress’ Amy-Lucy O’Rourke later suggested in an interview with the Daily Mail that their secret relationship lasted three months, during which time he said he was in love with her and unhappy with his wife.
While Thomas’s ‘secret mistress’ has vowed to expose even more about their affair, the star addressed his 700,000 followers on Thursday, in which he referenced the ‘dark shadows’ of life.
Alongside a selfie, he penned: ‘Good Morning You Lovely People!!’.
Thomas continued: ‘Nice early start in the gym finishing up my work out and looking forward to another day of dancing with my wonderful Strictly partner.
Taking to Twitter following the launch episode, BBC TV and radio presenter Peter, who fronts Look North, expressed his sympathies to Amy as he penned: ‘I feel sorry for Amy Dowden…’
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And it seems plenty of fans agreed with the journalist as they took to the comments to share their thoughts
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Thomas and Amy were all smiles as they joined their co-stars on the couch as this year’s series kicked off
‘Remeber [sic]….Never give up, because one day you will look back and be glad you didn’t!
‘Now go smash it! You are ten times stronger than you can ever imagine.
‘Make today your day!! Keep your face pointing to the sunshine and the dark shadows will always fall behind you! Bosh.’
Thomas gave a shoutout to his three children and wife in his introduction video during Saturday’s show as he revealed they will be watching every week’s show at home.
Speaking to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman he admitted he feels like the ‘underdog’ of the competition: ‘I am buzzing to be here, what an opportunity.
‘I do feel like the underdog, as the only dancing I have done is at wedding’s after a couple of beers. But I will give it my best and I will learn.’
Mere hours earlier, Amy-Lucy had insisted she wasn’t a ‘homewrecker’ after being targeted by trolls.
Meanwhile on her own Instagram Stories on Monday, the aesthetician said: ‘I just wanted to come on and say thank you to everyone for sending me really nice messages.’
‘Obviously I’ve had a few trolls, but their opinions are clearly not important, because the masses can see through his lies.”
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Thomas has found himself at the centre of headlines in recent weeks after admitting to cheating on his wife just weeks after their wedding in May 2022
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Thomas shocked journalists earlier this month when he grabbed a female reporter’s phone before storming out of the room during an interview, he later took to Instagram to apologise
Amy-Lucy went on to insist that she hasn’t revealed the affair for money or for 15 minutes of fame but instead to make clear how badly she feels she has been treated.
‘No-one knows the full story, the story’s massive the story is insane. I’ve had to give recipes I’ve had to show text messages, phone calls, voice notes, CCTV. There’s message with me saying “I cant believe you’ve done this to me” I’ve proved it.’
Before adding: ‘It’s not about money it’s about speaking my truth and about what Thomas put me though.’
Meanwhile Thomas shocked journalists earlier this month when he grabbed a female reporter’s phone before storming out of the room during an interview.
Despite mounting pressure to axe him from the line-up, the BBC have stood by Thomas and he addressed the scandal himself in a statement apologising to the journalist.
He shared: ‘To set the record straight off the back of yesterday, during one of the interviews, a journalist placed their phone on the table to record the conversation.
‘I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages – not about Strictly, but about a personal story from my past.’
Revealing he felt triggered by the tales of his past, he continued: ‘I’ve been through some difficult times in my life, which I’ve worked hard to move on from.
‘In that moment, seeing it there caught me off guard. I felt it was best to step away and gather myself.’
Thomas continued: ‘This had nothing to do with the interviews or Strictly itself.
‘I’m sorry I picked up someone else’s phone and I don’t even know if the journalist realised their messages were visible, and I don’t want to suggest any bad intentions on their part.
‘What I do want to say is how excited I am to be part of Strictly this year. I’m so grateful for all the love, kindness and support I’ve been shown so far.
‘It means the world to me, and I can’t wait to give it my all on that dancefloor. Bosh.’
Before finding fame, Tom landed himself in trouble with the police in 2011 for handling stolen goods.
He was charged with dishonestly handling 4,992 tubes of Body Shop cleansing gels worth nearly £40,000 and 2,000 diazepam tablets.
In February, he brought up his past misdemeanours after coming under fire from trolls for witnessing a robbery at a Greggs.
He slammed the individuals for stealing while wearing designer clothes and furiously asked ‘what’s happening’ to the state of the country, before social media users reminded him of his own criminal past and branded him a ‘hypocrite’.
Hitting back on X, he wrote: ‘Still finding it mad that people are actually having a go at me on Twitter because I pointed out that Greggs got robbed whilst I was in there. And then bringing up my past. Yes, I did get arrested when I was younger, in fact I got arrested several times. And been charged and paid the price for my convictions. I wrote a book about it.’
He continued: ‘I never had my own bedroom at one point when I was younger and slept on a pull-out bed on the floor.
‘I never had any money or had anything given to me on a plate, yet I turned my life around. I go around schools/colleges/universities telling my story hoping I can inspire others.’
He added: ‘I’m no hero. I’m just a hard worker. I’ve made mistakes, in fact more than most, who hasn’t made one? I now try to spread positivity. I’ve been stabbed when I was younger because of what I got up to and that’s why I try to help with my knife crime campaign at my gym.
‘People need to get in the real world and see that there is a problem in this country. And we can fix it if we stick together. Bosh.’
