Strictly B0MBSHELL: Brendan Cole claims explosive Shirley Ballas clash ‘cost him the gig’
The former Strictly star left the show shrouded in scrutiny back in 2017.
Brendan Cole claims he left the show after an explosive row about Shirley Ballas (Image: PA)
James Jordan and Brendan Cole have lifted the lid on their explosive Strictly Come Dancing exits. The dynamic duo both served as professionals on the BBC ballroom competition, but left under a cloud of controversy after several years on the show. Now, Brenda – who starred on the show from 2004 to 2017 – has revealed that he left the show after he used the C-word to describe head judge Shirley Ballas three times and couldn’t promise bosses he wouldn’t do it again.
In a new interview, he confessed: “I don’t condone the C-word. And at the time, I apologised for using it, but I wasn’t going to backtrack on it and say, ‘Well, it wasn’t true’, because I thought it was true. Listen, I love Shirley.
The New Zealand dancer and his co-star James Jordan left the show partly due to their strong opinions (Image: Hamilton Advertiser)
“I think she’s a great judge. At the time, I didn’t think she was particularly nice to us, and I vocalised that. Some would argue to cost me the gig.” The New Zealand ballroom dancer explained that he knew his time was up when one of the BBC bosses, who had promised him a job as long as she worked there, left the show for rival company Channel 4.
Brendan left the BBC show shortly after her exit. Meanwhile, James, who recently announced his separation from his co-star Ola Jordan after more than 20 years of marriage, appeared on Strictly alongside his wife from 2006 to 2013. His exit came two years before his ex-wife left the show.
He has since revealed that his frank backstage opinions on the show, including labelling a professional dance routine as “s**t” and “an insult”, were behind his sudden exit. Speaking on the upcoming episode of Wynne Evans’ Manopause podcast, in quotes obtained by The Sun, he explained: “I was always very outspoken when I was on Strictly.
“I was always sticking up for the professional dancers. I eventually got asked to leave the show because I was maybe too outspoken, and I was pointing out things that they didn’t want to be pointed out. But I want the best for the show.”
The dad-of-one did insist that he and other dancers were always grateful for Strictly because it gave them a “platform”, but claimed that “certain things that happened to us that were maybe not fair” during his time on the Saturday night show. James and Brendan are currently preparing for their Dance Rebels: Strictly Unleashed Tour, which is set to begin in April 2027.
During the height of their fame on the show, both Brendan and James made waves as successful professional dancers. Brendan and newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky won the first ever series in 2004, and he went on to dance with Kelly Brook, Lisa Snowdon and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
