Former Strictly pro Brendan Cole has hit out at the show’s decision to axe contestant Nicola Adams.
Nicola was dropped from the show after her partner Katya Jones tested positive for coronavirus.
Strictly rules state that should any contestant or professional dancer test positive for the virus, the pairing will immediately leave the competition.
However, Brendan – who was dropped from the show in 2018 – revealed he thinks it’s unfair the boxer has got the boot.
Why does Brendan Cole think Nicola’s Strictly exit is unfair?
Although Katya tested positive for COVID-19, Nicola’s result came back negative.
I don’t really understand why Nicola can’t carry on through, if she gets a test and she’s not positive.
And this is why Brendan thinks her enforced exit from the BBC show is unfair.
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“I don’t really understand why Nicola can’t carry on through, if she gets a test and she’s not positive, she can carry on?” he pondered on Good Morning Britain today (November 13).
Asked how Nicola and Katya would be feeling, Brendan said: “It must be so devastating. I feel for them both.”
What have Strictly bosses said about her exit?
After Brendan’s appearance on the breakfast TV show, Strictly bosses issued a new statement.
It not only confirmed that Nicola would not be assigned a new celebrity partner for this year’s show, but that she would be unable to return to compete next year.
Bosses said that she would have an “unfair advantage” over next year’s contestants due to weeks of training with Katya.
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“We announced before the series started if anyone tested positive for COVID-19 they’d be out of the competition,” the statement read.
“If someone has to miss a week it’s called a bye and everyone gets one bye. But contestants are not allowed to miss more than one week.”
As a result of Katya’s COVID-19 diagnosis, the pair have to quarantine for two weeks.
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Why was Jamie Laing allowed to return?
The statement also confirmed that celebrities are not allowed to re-enter the competition the following year if they have taken part in the opening live show.
Jamie Laing came back this year because he was injured before the show kicked off.
The statement added: “Nicola can’t come back because she will have an unfair advantage in the future as she’s now had weeks of training.”
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