It Takes Two host and former professional dancer Janette Manrara has broken her silence on rumours she and co-host Fleur East were set to be axed from Strictly Come Dancing
Following an intense shake up of the Strictly pro dancer line-up, Janette Manrara has addressed the rumours that she and her fellow It Takes Two host Fleur East are also up for the chop. Rumours that the two would be cut from the Strictly Come Dancing spin off show circulated as four pro dancers were axed from the show.
The BBC insisted the rumours that Janette and Fleur had been dropped were “factually incorrect” but the whispers persisted. Now, Janette has broken her silence on the claims, telling audiences that she would “have to wait and find out”.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Janette was asked whether fans would see her on It Takes Two in the autumn. She said: “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and find out. I think everyone at the moment is on standby, so we’ll see what happens… That’s showbiz!”
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She also addressed rumours that the show itself would be dropped. Strictly has faced several scandals in recent years and the departure of its long time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman had many wondering if the show would survive for another season. But Janette assured viewers it would. “Strictly is definitely coming back,” she promised. “We can say that.”
The dancer continued, jokingly: “I’m assuming we’ll have a couple new professionals and a couple of new presenters as well.” As well as losing Tess and Claudia, Strictly Come Dancing have waved goodbye to four pro dancers. The first to go was Karen Hauer, who was the longest serving female professional on the show.
Karen’s exit was followed by the departures of Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas. It is speculated that more exit announcements are to come, with Gorka Marquez and Neil Jones reported to be the next pros that would be announced as leaving.
BBC bosses are reportedly looking to America for new talent ahead of the next series. Producers are said to have held talks with US dancer D’angelo Castro after he caught their attention during a recent visit to the UK. The 25-year-old has previously appeared on the American version of the show, Dancing With The Stars, and has built up a strong following on social media.
According to The Sun on Sunday, a source close to the show said: “Strictly bosses are on the lookout for fresh faces and love the look of D’angelo, he ticks all the boxes. They hope he could be the new Giovanni Pernice.”
Giovanni was on the show from 2015 to 2023. He left the show after his final dance partner, Amanda Abbington, complained to the BBC that he had bullied and harassed her during training. Giovanni denied the accusations and quit the dance show.
In September 2024, the BBC issued an apology to Amanda and upheld her complaints of verbal bullying and harassment, but not of physical aggression.
Giovanni was not the only star to leave the show amid a BBC investigation. Graziano Di Prima, who joined the show in 2018, also left after the 2023 season.The professional dancer was sacked by BBC bosses in the summer amid claims he “hit, spat at and kicked” his celebrity dance partner Zara McDermott.
Graziano told his followers on Instagram: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime. While respecting the BBC HR process, I acknowledge it’s only right for the sake of the show that I step away. I am saddened that I wasn’t allowed to offer a quote to the online news stories, and I take on board the sensitivity of the situation. There’s more to this story that I am unable to discuss at this time, but I am committed to being strong for my family and friends. I wish the Strictly family nothing but success in the future.”
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