Brendan Cole, a former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, has voiced his concerns over what he perceives as unfair treatment of one of the show's stars. The 48 year old, who was part of the BBC programme from 2004 to 2017, believes that one of the most talented dancers is not receiving the recognition that they deserve.
The former pro has accused head judge Shirley Ballas of being overly "harsh" and expressed that her comments following a recent performance left him feeling "upset". This comes after JB Gill and his stand-in professional partner Lauren Oakley impressed both judges and viewers with their Samba to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes.
Lauren, who wasn't paired with a celebrity this year, stepped in to replace Amy Dowden, JB's original partner, who had to withdraw from the series due to a foot injury sustained after a post-performance emergency hospital visit.
Following Gill and Oakley's performance, the judges were quick to commend the duo. Anton Du Beke exclaimed: "I am stunned! Stunned!" He added: "Last week you did your Couple's Choice and I said bring this going forward... Man alive, did you bring it!"
Even the typically stern-faced Craig Revel Horwood was charmed, stating: "JB - that means to me Jolly Brilliant!"
Brendan has since voiced his displeasure with Shirley Ballas' remarks on Strictly Come Dancing. Despite acknowledging JB's commitment, Shirley attributed his dance floor success to his previous partner, saying: "That performance says to me I'm in it to win it and I'm not going anywhere, that's what that performance said.
"But I do want to say one thing, all these weeks, all these fundamentals - your feet, your leg actions, your body - that you've learned from Amy, she set you up for this kind of performance," reports the Mirror.
She added about JB's current partner: "Lauren you dance fantastic together as a team but you couldn't have done it without all those weeks of work. So a huge congratulations to all of you."
In an interview with Sky Vegas, Brendan explained his frustration: "One of the things that upset me on Saturday was the fact that Shirley seemed to give all the credit to Amy, which is really harsh," he remarked. "Lauren has had to step in late last minute, and she created and taught him a really good Samba.
"The choreography was great, the technical aspect was great, which I don't think we've seen from JB up until now other than the week before with the commercial style. Lauren's getting that out of him, and she should be getting full credit for that."
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The last leg of the Strictly journey is brutal, according to his statement, in which he champions Lauren for accolades: "Hopefully, as the show goes on, she'll start getting the credit, because she's the one that's now doing the hard yards.
"The last six or seven weeks of Strictly are the hard bits. The first few weeks are like the honeymoon period of Strictly. She's one of the best pros on the show, so obviously she's going to get great stuff out of him, because he's very capable."
Show aficionados echoed Brendan's sentiments about Amy, criticising the programme's chiefs for not pairing her with a celebrity competitor. One supporter remarked: "Lauren should never be benched ever again. She's bringing out the best in JB."
Another echoed: "I love Lauren. Should have had a partner from the start. I don't think she's been involved in a dance I haven't loved," whilst a third commented: "Lauren came to show them producers they made a big mistake benching her this year."
