Brendan Cole's shock axe from Strictly Come Dancing might be the first of many, according to judge Craig Revel Horwood. The 53-year-old hinted that there will be further changes, telling the Daily Star: "Everyone is replaceable, everyone. They could get someone else to replace me. They wouldn’t be as good though!" Craig himself doesn’t know whether he will be in the next series of the popular BBC One dance show, but said he will find out "around June". He added: "So it will be a month and a half before I know if I'm doing the next series."
On Saturday, Craig gave his first interview since Brendan's Strictly exit, telling Daily Mirror's Kim Carr: "Strictly will be better without Brendan." Seemingly referring to Brendan's reaction to the news, he said: "More fool him. The show’s done him wonders. It’s done us all wonders. It’s been fantastic. I would never complain about it. It’s given us all platforms on which to stand."
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood has hinted at more axings
Brendan was close to tears as he confirmed that he had been axed from Strictly on Lorraine back in January. He said at the time that it was "quite hard to talk about" and that the BBC hadn't renewed his contract after a 15-year stint on the show. Brendan, along with Anton Du Beke, were the last two remaining dancers who had been on the show since the very beginning. "The BBC haven't renewed my contract. We get contracted year upon year. They've made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I'm a little bit in shock," he said.
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Brendan Cole was told his contract wouldn't be renewed for the new Strictly series
The star continued: "I'm quite emotional, a bit raw about it. It's done via a process of a phone call and stuff. I have had 15 incredible series on the show. I'm very proud of the whole show. It's a great team. I'm disappointed. It's very hard to talk about. It's a recent decision." It is thought that Brendan will be replaced by 21-year-old Curtis Pritchard, the younger brother of the AJ Pritchard, who has been in Strictly since 2016.
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Head judge Shirley Ballas also recently opened up about Brendan during an interview with HELLO!. "I don’t have any recollection on a personal level of bridges ever being broken or rebuilt between me and Brendan," she said. Shirley added that she thought that Brendan was an "amazing dancer, an amazing person", and that she wished him all the best. "There has been no face-to-face confrontation and all I can say is I wish him, his wife and their two beautiful children well because, whatever he does next, I know he will bring 100 per cent to his role," she said.
