Strictly Come Dancing star Michelle Tsiakkas is reportedly seeking therapy after being ‘axed’ from the show.
The professional dancer confirmed this week that she was among one of several fan favourites who have been cut from the roster.
Other dancers Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Gorka Marquez have also been ‘axed’ from the show.
Michelle, 30, who joined the show in 2022, danced with EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick during his time stint on the competition.
The pair were eliminated in the tenth week, finishing in seventh place, and Michelle did not receive a celebrity partner the following year.
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In a new interview, Michelle has spoken of her sense of ‘grief’ which followed the bombshell news, and revealed that she’s seeking therapy to help navigate these emotions.
Speaking to The Sun, Michelle claimed that she had been axed during a 30-minute Zoom meeting with a Strictly Come Dancing executive.
Michelle said: ‘I didn’t see it coming. I thought I had more time. When she told me I wasn’t coming back, there was a moment of shock. I felt my story was unfinished.
‘It felt out of the blue,’ she added, describing herself as ‘heartbroken’ by the sense of grief which followed the bombshell.
She continued: ‘Everything I have known for the past four years has gone. Your brain goes through change and panic. It was so sudden, I had a feeling of hopelessness.’
She said that she was ‘not given a reason’ for her axing, which made the news even tougher to process.
This, she said, put her in mind of late Strictly star Robin Windsor, who took his own life in 2024, aged 44.
Earlier this month, an inquest ruled that Windsor had taken his own life after a considerable ‘mental health deterioration’ accumulated through childhood trauma, heartache and depression.
Jurors at West London Coroner’s Court were told that Windsor had left a note which said the way he was treated when he was dropped from the BBC show ‘destroyed’ him.
Describing mental health as ‘a huge thing,’ she went on to talk about the sense of whiplash which followed her sudden axing from the show.
‘Strictly brings so much fame and exposure and then to lose it in a moment is really tough mentally,’ she said.
‘It was really tough for Robin. For me, it’s been a couple of weeks now since I got the news and things are improving. I think it’s just that journey that you go through.’
According to the tabloid, Michelle has sought out a therapist to talk about her experience. Strictly is also said to have offered a welfare team to discuss her future after the show.
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While Michelle doesn’t believe that the BBC axed her due to scandal surrounding her 2024 dance partner, she did say that she believes the cast cull is part of a concerted effort to move on from the past.
31-year-old Jamie’s time on the show was wrought with controversy, first becoming caught up in a ‘sex toy’ row which involved fellow contestant Wynne Evans.
Footage obtained by The Sun on Sunday saw Jamie and Wynne larking around backstage at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, brandishing a sex toy in front of cameras.
This reportedly earned both parties a telling off from BBC bosses.
Soon after, news broke that Jamie had been dumped by his girlfriend, amid accusations of cheating.
He was later accused of having ‘boasted about an explicit sex act’ on the Strictly stars’ WhatsApp group.
The alleged comment hit headlines in the wake of Wynne Evans’ infamous ‘spit roast’ gag and subsequent firing.
An insider told The Sun: ‘Wynne made a jokey comment, which was borne out of Jamie looking like a spitroast chicken because of how he warmed up on Strictly, and he got fired.
‘Jamie on the other hand boasted about engaging in a very explicit sex act and no one batted an eyelid.
‘His message was joked about afterwards as well, as it was a shocking thing for the stars and pros to read.
‘Some of the Strictly lot think the BBC acted too hastily in removing Wynne, because in reality some of the cast were taking it a lot further.’
Jamie had only just resumed filming on EastEnders when a video emerged of him using a slur against disabled people – referring to the residents of Blackpool as ‘m*****s.’
The actor received a three-month suspension for the remark, and was set to return to the soap (again) when the BBC announced that he would not be coming back.
Reflecting on her time with Jamie, Michelle told The Sun that ‘it wasn’t the easiest.’
‘We were getting a lot of critical comments, so that felt like the narrative,’ she said, acknowledging that the star felt a lot of ‘pressure’ after winning the Christmas special in 2023.
Meanwhile, Michelle quit the Strictly Professionals live tour after learning that her contract had been axed.
She spoke out for the first time when she encountered photographers outside Otsi Mabuse’s dance studio in London last week.
‘It is what it is,’ she said, at the time, before thanking those gathered for their support.’
Metro has contacted the BBC for comment on this story.
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