The celebrity dance competition<\/a> is currently undergoing a significant overhaul following the shock departure of long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman<\/a>, and it was reported earlier this week<\/a> that Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, Gorka M\u00e1rquez, 35, Luba Mushtuk, 36, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, and Karen Hauer, 43<\/a>, had been dropped from the show.<\/p>\n In light of the reported cast cull and the arrival of two new presenters, who are yet to be announced, professional dancer Rihanoff said that the show should take a break before being revamped for its return.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Karen Hauer reportedly won\u2019t be returning this year (Getty)<\/p>\n \u201cIf I were a producer, I would give it a rest for a year, regroup and think about what we can do differently,\u201d she told The Independent. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something to say about going back to basics and back to its roots \u2013 the roots of the show were pure ballroom and Latin dancing without the razzmatazz of 101 props and 3D projections. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came onto the show, it was about ballroom and Latin dancing. It was minimum props, all the group dances were live. The professionals were choreographing it and the celebrities had to learn proper ballroom and Latin dancing. It would not do any harm to go back to the good old-fashioned [ways].\u201d<\/p>\n Rihanoff joined the cast of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008 before leaving eight years later. During her time on the show, she was infamously partnered with broadcaster John Sergeant, who made it to the 10th week of the competition despite consistently low scores and dropped out after fearing that he would actually win.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Kristina Rihanoff was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing from 2008 until 2015 (Getty)<\/p>\n The Russian pro also danced with DJ Goldie, boxer Joe Calzaghe, singer Jason Donovan, EastEnders\u2019 Colin Salmon, rugby player Ben Cohen, TV presenter Daniel O\u2019Donnell and Blue\u2019s Simon Webbe \u2013 who was a runner-up in 2014. <\/p>\n While Rihanoff left the following year as she \u201cdidn\u2019t want to be there anymore\u201d, she revealed that professionals on the show are only ever contracted for a year. It meant that waiting to hear whether your contract was renewed every 12 months was a \u201chorrendous\u201d experience.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always been that jeopardy of the dancers not being called back, so it\u2019s not a new thing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cI moved myself to the UK, not knowing a single person and it was a big leap of faith that it\u2019s all gonna work out. It\u2019s not just me, pretty much all of the dancers are not from the UK. Then to think, \u2018Everything is going to change again, what do I do next?\u2019 It\u2019s very hard. We put heart and soul into this.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that while Strictly is a \u201cfantastic job\u201d to have, the job uncertainty can take its toll on the professionals. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Gorka Marquez is reportedly one of the five stars who hasn\u2019t had his contract renewed at \u2018Strictly\u2019 (BBC)<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know who is in jeopardy or if they\u2019re going to renew your contract. It\u2019s not a very nice feeling and obviously, on a lot of dancers, it has a big mental health effect.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2185435622.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Kristina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-1433226505.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Gorka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/newFile-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-10-21-52.png\")
<\/p>\n