Karen Hauer has reportedly been axed from Strictly Come Dancing. The TV star, 43, has severed as a professional on the BBC Saturday night favourite since 2012.
She has danced with the likes of comedienne Jayde Adams, Chris Ramsey, and, most recently, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey but it is thought that her contract has not been renewed. She is the latest in a line of professionals, including Nadiya Bychkova and Gorka Marquez who have also been cut from this year’s lineup.
A source told Daily Mail: “Karen is the latest professional dancer to be told her contract will not be renewed this year. It’s very much a case of out with the old and in with the new. As the longest-serving female dancer, Karen found out last week that her time on Strictly is over.”
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Over the weekend, it also emerged that Michelle Tsiakkas, who competed with former EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick in 202, had been axed from the programme as well, along with Luba Mushtuk,
Some big changes are on the way for the long-running competition, especially after hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced they had stepped down from the BBC in a shock statement last year.
“It’s been some time since there was a ‘churn’ in the pro line-up, but they do happen every few years and there hasn’t been a big one in some time. The way producers look at it is a little like running a football team: even after Man City win the league they still change their team around and bring in fresh blood constantly, to stay at the top of their game,” a source told The Sun.
“A lot of the people going are now established names and stars in their own right but you have to remember that to be on the show, they also had to replace someone else at one point.”
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CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Speaking about Nadiya’s sudden axing, source claimed that it was “out with the old, in with the new” approach with the pro and claimed her age of 36 had something to do with it.
“Her axing smacks of ageism,” the source said. “They’re clearing all the old crew out to make way for new dancers.” They added that Nadiya is hugely popular with fans and she “can’t understand why she won’t be back”. Nadiya was said to be “devastated” by the news.
Gorka Marquez, 35, Luba Mushtuk, 36 and Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, are also said to having been axed. Gorka did not appear in last year’s series with a partner due to his filming commitments with the Spanish version of the show, Bailando Con Las Estrellas, while both Luba and Michelle were not partnered with anyone either.
In a joint statement confirming their exit, presenters Tess and Claudia said hosting the show had been an “absolute dream”.
They said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
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