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Brendan Cole claims he was axed by Strictly Come Dancing after Shirley Ballas outburst

Brendan Cole has claimed that insulting a Strictly judge may have led to his departure from Strictly Come Dancing, whilst James Jordan said his own outspoken opinions spelt the end of his time on the show

[Brendan Cole]

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Brendan Cole has shared what led up to his axing from Strictly (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

James Jordan and Brendan Cole have addressed their controversial exits from Strictly Come Dancing. The TV stars both served as professionals on the BBC Saturday night favourite but left under something of a cloud after several years on the programme.

Brendan, who was on the show from 2004 to 2017, has now revealed that his exit came after he used the C-word to describe head judge Shirley Ballas a total of three times, and couldn't give bosses his assurance that he would not do it again.

He said: "I dont condone the C-word. And at the time, I apologised for using it but I wasnt going to backtrack on it and say, Well, it wasnt true, because I thought it was true. Listen, I love Shirley. I think shes a great judge. At the time, I didnt think she was particularly nice to us and I vocalised that. Some would argue it cost me the gig."

[Strictly Come Dancing ]

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Brendan, seen with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, was on Strictly from 2004 to 2017(Image: PA)

[Ola and James Jordan]

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James appeared on Strictly alongside his wife Ola Jordan, with whom he recently split, for a number of years (Image: PA)

Brendan explained that he knew his time was up when one of the bosses, who had promised him a job as long as she was working there, left for Channel 4, and he was off the show shortly after that.

Meanwhile, James, who recently announced that he and fellow dancer Ola Jordan had split after more than 20 years of marriage, appeared on Strictly alongside his wife from 2006 to 2013, with his exit coming two years before that of Ola's own departure.

He has now explained that his frank opinions that he gave behind the show, which included labelling a professional dance routine as "s***" and "an insult", were the reason he was eventually asked to leave.

Speaking on an upcoming edition of Wynne Evans' Manopause podcast, in quotes obtained by The Sun, he said: "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 things out that they didnt want to be pointed out. But I want the best for the show."

[Shirley Ballas]

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Brendan revealed he used the C-word to describe Shirley Ballas and refused to promise he wouldn't do it again(Image: PA)

James did insist that he and the 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 there.

James and Brendan are currently gearing up to perform on their Dance Rebels: Strictly Unleashed tour, which kicks off in April 2027, but during their heyday on the show, they both enjoyed successful runs. 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.

Meanwhile, during his own time on the show, James competed with Vanessa Feltz and Alex Jones and reached the final with both Denise Van Outen and Pamela Stephenson.

The Mirror has contacted representatives of Shirley Ballas for comment. A spokesperson for the BBC declined to comment.

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