Olympian James Cracknell slammed Strictly for ‘humiliating him’ in unearthed backstage meltdown after being axed
OLYMPIAN James Cracknell slammed Strictly for ‘humiliating him’ in an unearthed backstage meltdown after being axed from the show.
The 52-year-old took part in the BBC dance show in 2019.
The athlete was paired with Luba Mushtuk during the 17th series of the programme.
James and Luba were the first to leave the competition after they lost the dance-off to former England goalie David James and Nadiya Bychkova.
Back in 2019 The Sun exclusively revealed that James launched into a furious rant after becoming first booted off Strictly Come Dancing that year.
An insider told us at the time: “He was livid at being axed.
“He was saying things like, ‘It was a massive mistake to do Strictly. I’ve been made to look completely stupid.’
“James is very competitive — he won gold at the Olympics twice — and he felt he wasn’t given a fair chance.
“It was like his first career failure.
“He was very angry backstage and had to be calmed down.”
At the time we reported that the Olympic rower had to be calmed down backstage.
He ranted: “I wish I’d never done this show.”
The series was won by Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse.
Shortly after he got the boot, he admitted that he would never dance again.
Writing in his Radio Times column, he said: “I have always avoided doing things that I know I won’t be any good at.
“Being prepared to fail in front of millions of people has (strangely) been the bravest thing I’ve ever done.”
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
He added that the show gave him the perfect excuse to never show off his moves again.
James said: “I’ve learnt a huge amount about myself over the past five weeks.
“As for the future, if I’m ever asked to dance and don’t fancy it, I have proof from Craig Revel Horwood that I actually can’t dance.”