Table of Contents
- Got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com
Strictly Come Dancing fans have declared they know the “real reason” why Kai Widdrington was not paired with a celebrity partner this year.
It was revealed during Saturday’s launch show that the dancer, who was paired with Angela Rippon for the 2023 race and arrived in Blackpool, will be “benched”.
Also missing out on a performance by a celebrity couple will be professional dancers Carlos Gu and Lauren Oakley, who will only participate in group numbers.
But after the first show, Strictly fans believe the decision may have been down to her professional partner Neil Jones.
Despite appearing on the show since 2016, Neil, 41, became famous for rarely finding a partner.and fans now believe Kai was sidelined to give Neil his time to shine as this could be his last series.
Strictly Come Dancing fans have declared they know the “real reason” why Kai Widdrington was not paired with a celebrity partner this year
Many believe it may be down to his professional partner Neil Jones, who has been paired with 80s legend Toya Wilcox.
On Digital Spy’s forum dedicated to the dance show, fans theorised: ‘I think this could be Neil’s swansong if the BBC can manage to sack the professionals.
“I said one possible reason they gave him a partner this year is to fire him. Unless he was already thinking about leaving.”
“It’s a shame to see Kai and Lauren on the sidelines – maybe they just didn’t get on with the celebrity side of things? I’m not surprised they paired Neil with Toyah as she seems to want to go down the comedy route and Neil could work for that.”
This comes after Kai spoke about his time on the show earlier this week.
He told the Daily Star:Everyone wants to be famous. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to be famous in this series. Two guys didn’t get to be famous in this series and unfortunately, I’m one of them.
‘Some of us just can’t find a partner and that’s just the way it is.
“We’ll see what happens next year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get one then.”
This year, only six women will compete against nine men, a first in the show’s history.
Although Kai is a fan favourite and came to Blackpool with TV legend Angela Rippon, 78, he will only be appearing in group numbers this year (he is pictured with Angela, who showed off her incredible flexibility as she stretched her leg over her head during her first live performance).
Fans now believe Kai was sidelined to give Neil his moment to shine as this could be his last series, while others believe he was “better suited” for Toya.
Some theorized that Toyah seemed to want to pursue the comedy path and felt Neil would be better suited for that.
Taking to Digital Spy’s forum dedicated to the dance show, some fans expressed their thoughts on why Kai had been “snubbed”.
Earlier this week, Kai spoke about the show that launched on Saturday, explaining that two boys couldn’t be a couple in this series and that unfortunately, he was one of them.
This year, only six women will compete against nine men, a first in the show’s history.
The mostly male line-up comes after a series of harassment allegations after Amanda Abbington and Zara McDermott spoke out about their experiences in rehearsals.
This year, Giovanni Pernice33, and Graziano Di Prima were on the receiving end of accusations of mistreating their famous dance partners.
Giovanni has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, while Graziano, 30, initially confirmed and regretted his actions against Zara.
The identities of the contestants who will compete in series 22 of Strictly, which begins in September, were revealed on 5 August.
This comes after it was confirmed that a verdict on the Giovanni-Amanda Abbington feud is expected to be announced within days.
The Strictly scandal broke out when Sherlock actress Amanda left the show in 2023.
She claimed that her dance partner, Giovanni, was abusive to her, which led to her leaving the show later.
In July, Graziano was sacked, accused of “kicking” his famous dance partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott, during their time together.