Sophie Ellis-Bextor has shared a candid insight into the damage her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing had on her marriage to husband Richard Jones.
The 45-year-old singer, who appeared on the 2013 series of the BBC dance show, said her time on the show left Richard feeling “abandoned”.
In her 2021 book, Spinning Plates, Sophie detailed how he became “unusually” obsessed with her whereabouts and became convinced she wanted to leave him.
Sophie, who worked as a partner for professional dancer Brendan Cole, insisted he was “a complete gentleman” and said Richard “liked him”, amid a worrying series of mounting allegations against the show and its dancers.
However, despite her perfect relationship and experience with Brendan, 48, the show still negatively affected the previously “solid” marriage.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has shared her views on the damage her time on Strictly Come Dancing had on her marriage to husband Richard Jones (pictured with Brendan Cole)
The singer, 45, who appeared on the 2013 series of the BBC dance show, said her time on the show left Richard feeling “abandoned” (pictured with Richard in 2024)
Sophie made it to the final and finished fourth, behind Natalie Gumede, Susanna Reid and Abbey Clancy, who won the show that year.
Detailing her time on the show, Sophie wrote: “By the last week, I was already tired. I remember standing on the dance floor with Abbey Clancy and we both said we were ready to get back to our husbands and our normal lives.
‘All the while, Richard felt abandoned. He was worried about losing me. It wasn’t that I was going to run off with someone – he liked Brendan and knew nothing was going to happen there – but I think he thought something was awakening in me and he felt like he wasn’t part of my future.’
Despite her attempts, she couldn’t change his mind: “I’d never, ever felt that way, but I couldn’t convince him. He could see that I was completely absorbed in the show and consumed by the intensity of it and the constant learning, learning and learning that you share with another person: your dance partner.
Noting the change in his behaviour, she added: “Richard became unusually insistent on knowing where he was all the time. If I didn’t reply to a text message he would become furious.”
‘Normally he found it very easy to support me in everything I did, but I think with Strictly he was just waiting for me to finish. He was messaging me all day while I was rehearsing, very interested in knowing my schedule.’
‘When I was home we would argue about how distracted I was and whether I would make it to the next week. He felt I might slip into a new life leaving our family behind.
“I didn’t have that desire, but at the end of the day I was too exhausted to give him the peace of mind he needed. I think the only real peace of mind might come when the show was over.”
In her 2021 book, Spinning Plates, Sophie detailed how he became “unusually” obsessed with her whereabouts and convinced himself that she wanted to leave him.
Sophie, who worked as a partner for professional dancer Brendan Cole, insisted he was “a complete gentleman” and said Richard “liked him”, amid a worrying series of mounting allegations against the show and its dancers.
Sophie was struggling with her marriage off-screen but revealed there was no emotional support available on Strictly to help her with her personal life.
She said: ‘I feel terrible for having done that to him and there was no one at Strictly Towers who could help me. There is no emotional care, apart from the wisdom and advice of the people working behind the scenes.
‘Dancers also have to be choreographers, dancers and occasionally psychiatrists. It all starts with wanting to prove you can do the right footwork on your heels or on your toes for the head judge, then your confidence in your ability to act or be sexy is tested, and that’s a bigger emotional challenge.’
Sophie explained that Richard began counselling a month after the programme began and admitted that she wished she had done the same.
She said: “I think they should have a counsellor, just to check in with the contestants. Richard started seeing a counsellor after I was a month into the show, and that helped me a lot. Maybe I should have done that too.”
Strictly is currently facing its biggest crisis in its 20-year run since returning to the BBC in its current form, following a wave of complaints from former celebrity contestants in recent months.
However, despite her perfect relationship and experience with Brendan, 48, the show still affected her previously “solid” marriage in a negative way (pictured with Richard in 2021).
Professional Graziano Di Prima, 30, was booted from the show last week following allegations he allegedly punched and spat at his dance partner Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals.
Weeks earlier, Giovanni Pernice, 33, was suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other celebrity exes.
James Jordan has also fuelled the Strictly bullying controversy after Steve Backshall complained that he was being “bullied” by his dance partner while on the show in 2014.
The former Strictly pro took to social media to mock the seasoned TV explorer after it emerged he made a complaint to the BBC about professional dancer Ola’s “rude and impatient manner”.
In response to a Strictly fan’s mocking disbelief that the inveterate explorer, who He has dived with great white sharks and wrestled venomous snakes in his career; he could be ‘reduced to tears’ by the 5ft 4in dancer, James joked: ‘Please help me!’
MailOnline has revealed that the show’s presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman could begin the new series with an apology for alleged abusive behaviour suffered by celebrities in a desperate bid to save the show.
BBC bosses are said to be desperate to put an immediate end to the scandal when it begins in September and sources have said it “cannot start soon enough”.
They said the presenters could be asked to address the issue at the start of the first show and could even apologise after complaints from Amanda Abbington, Zara McDermott and Steve Backshall.
The source told us: ‘This year’s Strictly is the 20th anniversary and will be a celebration of the show and its history.
“The BBC will want to put an immediate end to what has happened. The programme cannot start soon enough.”
It comes amid claims that a host of celebrity Strictly contestants have… They created a ‘secret support group’ where they shared their own horror stories and corroborated each other’s claims.
But Tess and Claudia are unable to cope with the sudden departures of Giovanni and Graziano.
Graziano admits kicking Zara in rehearsal, but Giovanni has dismissed allegations about his teaching methods as “simply false.” Supporters say he has high standards.
“The BBC won’t want to get involved in that,” the source said.
The series launch show where the couples will be revealed is scheduled for September 4, with the live shows beginning two weeks later.
It will then run for 13 weeks until the finale in December.