Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova has voiced her concerns about her future on the programme amid reports the professional dancer is facing the ‘axe’
Days before it emerged that Nadia may be axed, she revealed her concerns
Nadiya Bychkova has said she “always wants to be a part of whatever Strictly is doing” as she faces rumours that she’s set to be axed from the show. The dancer is one of several professionals who are supposedly being earmarked to be sacked from the line-up ahead of the upcoming series.
The 36-year-old, along with Gorka Marquez, 35, Luba Mushtuk, 36 and Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, are all said to have been cut from the professional dancing line-up as part of a huge shake-up for the programme. Meanwhile, it’s claimed that Katya Jones and Karen Hauer are also at risk of being taken off the line-up.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror ahead of the reports, Nadiya admitted that things often don’t work out “every year” with the BBC programme.
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When asked about missing the tour for the second year running, she said: “You always want to be part of whatever Strictly is doing, but when it comes to the tours it doesn’t work every year. Chris [Robshaw] and I were out quite early this season, so I didn’t get to go on tour with him, but at the same time, it’s nice to take some time off and not be on the road.
“Strictly was full-on with so many things, like the group dance – it was intense since July, so being able to free up my schedule in January is nice. ” But while Nadiya has previously finished the show in fifth place with broadcaster Dan Walker, days before facing the axe, she revealed her dream was to lift the famous Glitterball Trophy.
“Of course, everybody wants to win the glitter ball,” she said, adding: “Who doesn’t? We all want to take the celebrity we’ve been given for the whole journey and teach them as many dances as we can, but someone has to go early, unfortunately.”
Reflecting on dancing with Walker at the Royal Albert Hall, she explained it was a “lovely moment,” which she will forever treasure. Nadiya also explained she would love to have Princess Anne take part in the show after the Princess Royal revealed she was a “big fan,” while Prince William would be her dream contestant.
Bosses at the show are said to have been left unimpressed by Nadiya’s romance with fellow professional star, Kai Widdrington, whom she dated for two years before they split in July 2024.
For Nadiya, she admits it’s “difficult” to date, regardless of the fact that she’s frequently on TV screens. “In general, nowadays it’s difficult to date, and it takes time to get to know a person,” she explained, adding: “It doesn’t matter if you’re on TV or not, whether it’s a friendship, a business partner or a relationship or whatever it may be, I’m just taking things slow.”
A source claimed to the MailOnline that Nadiya is known to be “uncompromising” away from the cameras. They also claim that in 2023, she didn’t react well to not having a celebrity partner on the show. They added that bosses want professional stars to treat the show “like a sport and get the best results out of their partners.”
The source added: “But Nadiya’s last three outings with a celebrity partner (also including Matt Goss) haven’t pulled up any threes – she hasn’t even made the top 10 with any of them.” The source said that in order to keep standards high on the show, whoever replaces Nadiya will “achieve better results”.
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