Another two Strictly Come Dancing pros have been caught up in the shocking BBC show shakeup.
The long-running reality series is entering a new era after stalwart hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly stepped down at the end of 2025, making way for two fresh faces.
Although we don’t yet know who will be taking over the coveted hosting gig, new reports are emerging that several pro dancers have been axed from the show.
So far, pros Gorka Márquez, 35, Luba Mushtuk, 36, and newcomer Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, are reportedly exiting stage left alongside Nadiya Bychkova, 36.
Now, it has been said that Neil Jones, 43, and Nancy Xu, 34, are following a similar fate. The pair will reportedly not have celebrity partners, and the most they may appear in are group dances.
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Sources have said they have not been offered full contracts.
‘Usually contract discussions would begin at the end of the year, but they were kept waiting until this week.
‘There’s talk of even more dancers facing the chop. Everyone is petrified for their future,’ an insider told The Sun.
This latest move comes after a series of rumoured shock removals, including Strictly dance star of eight years, Nadiya, a fan-favourite who has been paired with celebrities like Dan Walker and Tom Dean.
‘The news came as such a huge shock, as Nadiya’s life was Strictly, and to find out she’s not been invited back as a full-time pro has really broken her heart,’ said a source.
They added to The Sun: ‘No one was expecting producers to chop so many professionals.’
The edging out of familiar faces comes as bosses ‘want a fresh start and to bring in new faces after all the drama in recent years, and create a new era,’ another insider added.
A Strictly spokesperson told Metro that ‘plans for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course’.
There’s been a flurry of speculation over certain pros leaving for months, including decade-long pro Gorka, who has decreased his Strictly screentime already due to clashes with the Spanish version on which he is a judge.
In February, another beloved pro, Johannes Radebe, addressed ongoing fan concerns that he was planning to leave of his own volition after an emotional elimination speech in the latest season.
Appearing on the Graham Norton Show, he said: ‘Graham, I will do that show for as long as they will have me. I promise, I will. That is a magical, sparkling world. I love it.’
As for the show hosts, there’s still no official word on who will replace Tess and Claudia, but there are several frontrunners, including Bradley Walsh, Alison Hammond, Alex Jones and Zoe Ball.
The former BBC Radio 2 presenter briefly addressed the rumours in an interview with The Times, saying: ‘Obviously, there’s part of me that would love to do it. But I will still be watching, whoever hosts it.’
With change in the air, the future of the show seems more in flux than ever. One thing is for sure, come September, viewers will be getting used to a brand new version of the widely-loved series.
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One this autumn.
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