Former Strictly Come Dancing star Thomas Skinner and his professional dance partner Amy Dowden were the first to be eliminated from the BBC show.

And while at the time, the reality TV star who rose to fame following his appearance on The Apprentice, appeared to take things in his stride when speaking to show host Tess Daly, it has now emerged that he has accused the broadcaster of rigging the votes.

He claims this was in a bid to have him leave the show sooner rather than later, after his signing caused huge controversy amongst Strictly fans. But according to reports, the married father of three is not simply happy with leaving it as an allegation, as he is now reportedly suing the BBC, it has been claimed.

At the time, the show had scores from the judges from the initial two weeks and added them together, along with the results from the public votes. And now Thomas believes that he has proof to suggest that the votes had allegedly been ‘tampered with’.

A source told The Sun: “Thomas is adamant he got a larger share of the public vote and believes he has the evidence to prove it. He is determined to see it through, but there’s no way the BBC will take this sensational claim lying down.”

They went added: “They’ll robustly defend any kinds of claims that the voting was rigged or fixed.” A BBC spokesman told The Mirror: “Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is robust and independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy.” Here, we take a look at Thomas’ controversial Strictly journey and the fallout…

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Strictly Come Dancing fans hit out at Apprentice star

When Thomas was announced as part of this year’s line-up, Strictly Come Dancing fans were not pleased. Fans in their droves took to Twitter and claimed the BBC had let the line-up down by including him on their show.

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    Fans left enraged after Thomas Skinner poses with Republican

    Fans across the country were left disappointed and angry over Thomas Skinner’s post where he is seen cosying up to Republican JD Vance in social media post, which he shared shortly before his Strictly signing was announced.

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    Image:
    iamtomskinner/X)

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    Thomas Skinner exposes political stance as he backs Donald Trump

    The cheeky chappie publicly backed Donald Trump ahead of his re-election into the White House, leaving no doubt over his political views

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    Image:
    INSTAGRAM)

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    Thomas Skinner’s criminal past comes back to haunt him

    After his signing, it also re-emerged that the Strictly Come Dancing star was convicted of handling stolen goods worth an estimated £40,000 back in 2011, which left Strictly fans unimpressed.

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    Image:
    Instagram)

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    Thomas’ press conference meltdown

    Thomas Skinner appeared to have, what has only been described as a meltdown, during a press conference for the BBC show to promote the new series. During a sit-down with a group of journalists, he was seen snatching a mobile phone out of a journalist’s hand.