Strictly Come Dancing fans were left furious when the partners for this year’s series of the BBC show were leaked just hours before the episode aired.
The dance show is celebrating its 20th anniversary and returns to British television screens for its 22nd edition on Saturday night.
Saturday’s Strictly launch episode sees Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host as professional dancers perform, and this year’s couples are revealed.
However, fans were outraged when a spoiler account on social media revealed all the collaborations just hours before the episode.
The leak did not go down well with some fans, who expressed outrage at some of the couples, expressing their displeasure that one of the dancers was paired with someone who was “bad.”
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left furious when the partners for this year’s series of the BBC show were leaked, just hours before the launch episode on Saturday
Saturday’s Strictly launch episode will see Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as presenters, while the professional dancers perform – as well as the announcement of this year’s couples
Fans wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘It’s terrible that [REDACTED] And [REDACTED] ‘They’re not partners, my two favorite male dancers!’;
‘For God’s sake, will they please give? [REDACTED] anyone decent? Do the producers hate her or what?’;
‘Arm [REDACTED] has been 12th for 3 years in a row and they gave her a crap again (I like it [REDACTED] but let’s face it, he won’t be good),’;
‘Oh, what a shame, I really wanted to [REDACTED] at his [REDACTED]!!!!!’
One of the professionals who doesn’t have a celebrity partner this year is Kai Widdrington.
Kai broke his silence on Saturday after being ousted from the main show of the 20th anniversary series.
The dancer, who travelled to Blackpool last year with his partner Angela Rippon, has opened up about his disappointment at not being part of a celebrity duo.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Kai explained: ‘Everyone wants a celebrity. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my time for this show. Two boys couldn’t have one in this show and unfortunately, I’m one of them.’
The dance show is celebrating its 20th anniversary and returns to British television screens for its 22nd series on Saturday night.
However, fans were outraged when a spoiler account revealed all the partnerships on social media just hours before the episode
The leak did not go down well with some fans, who expressed outrage over some of the couples
“Some of us don’t get partners and that’s how it is. Let’s see what happens next year. Hopefully I get one then.”
As controversy swirls around the show, the toxicity of the once-beloved Saturday night show has had a chilling effect on female celebrities.
This means that for the first time the composition of the selection is unequal: six women and nine men.
However, Kai admitted that he is still very much looking forward to being part of this year’s ‘amazing’ series.
He added: “We’ve filmed a lot of the group routines. There are a few that are amazing. We’ve been working hard all summer to get them ready for the show. One of the routines that I’m in is really funny.”
Last month Strictly fans stated that bosses had made the ‘wrong decision’ after it was revealed that Kai would not have a partner.
Although Kai came out on the losing end this year, professional dancer Neil Jones is overjoyed to be dancing with a celebrity, having only had two partners since joining the show in 2016.
Strictly’s Kai Widdrington has broken his silence after being dropped from the main show’s 20th anniversary line-up
The professional dancer, who travelled all the way to Blackpool with his partner Angela Rippon last year, has openly expressed his disappointment at not being part of a celebrity couple
Speaking to MailOnline at the NTAs, he said: ‘I just love the series. I belong to the group of people who like to support other professionals. I see it as a sign that I’m there for the whole show and want to support them all.
‘I’ll be honest, what I love about Strictly is that it’s been around for 20 years now andEvery year changes happen and you wonder how we can become stronger?
“And every year they get stronger and stronger and they just have such an amazing support team. And so I think it’s awesome.”
He added: ‘I always say I’ll come back as long as you want me and as long as my body can handle it.’