{"id":631841,"date":"2026-09-21T22:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631841\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T22:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:38:10","slug":"former-bbc-strictly-star-brendan-cole-admits-im-a-bitter-old-pro-as-he-criticises-new-series-not-like-it-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631841\/","title":{"rendered":"Former BBC Strictly star Brendan Cole admits ‘I’m a bitter old pro’ as he criticises new series: ‘Not like it was’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole criticised the show’s latest celebrity cast as he reacted to Saturday’s glittering launch episode.<\/p>\n

Mr Cole, 50, admitted he struggled to identify many of the contestants, telling viewers: “It’s hard to know them if you’re here [in the UK] because I don’t think there are many recognisable names on the show.”<\/p>\n

The dancer, who acknowledged he does not watch much television, went further by questioning whether the series still carries the same excitement it once did.<\/p>\n

During his appearance on Good Morning Britain on Monday, he stated: “I don’t think it’s like it was.<\/p>\n

\"BrendanBBC Strictly: Brendan Cole in 2011 | GETTY<\/p>\n

“I sound like a bitter old pro, I probably am. But it didn’t seem like it had that real, ‘Oh, this is going to be exciting.'”<\/p>\n

Presenter Kate Garraway offered a possible explanation for the dancer’s unfamiliarity with the names, suggesting producers may be targeting a “different audience, a younger audience.”<\/p>\n

Fellow ex-Strictly professional James Jordan took a more optimistic stance, arguing that household fame is not a prerequisite for success on the programme. <\/p>\n

He maintained that viewers typically develop an attachment to contestants as the competition unfolds.<\/p>\n

\"Brendan<\/p>\n

Brendan Cole shared his view that Strictly lacks excitement these days<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

“We grow to love them over the weeks,” Mr Jordan said, before adding: “The show is such a great format. It just works, whoever you have on.”<\/p>\n

Mr Cole was not alone on the ITV show’s sofa by several other alumni of the BBC ballroom competition.<\/p>\n

Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite all featured in the group discussion, which centred on a single contentious question: does every contestant need to be an instantly recognisable face?<\/p>\n

The exchange highlighted a generational divide among former professionals. <\/p>\n

\"Brendan<\/p>\n

Former Strictly pros Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Ian Waite Vincent Simone and Pasha Kovalev talked about the 2026 series<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

ITV <\/p>\n

This year’s Strictly roster comprises 15 contestants drawn from across entertainment, sport and social media. <\/p>\n

EastEnders star Lacey Turner and Australian pop artist Delta Goodrem headline the cast, alongside actresses Melanie Walters, Jaime Winstone, Bethany Antonia and soap actor Lawrence Robb.<\/p>\n

Dani Dyer makes a notable return to the competition after being forced to pull out of last year’s series through injury. <\/p>\n

She is joined by Love Island’s Cach Mercer, former T4 host Will Best and celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton.<\/p>\n

\"Brendan<\/p>\n

Brendan Cole labelled himself ‘a bitter, old pro’ as he talked about BBC Strictly <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA <\/p>\n

The sporting contingent features Paralympic champion Dame Sarah Storey, ex-Premier League footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Team GB athlete Tabby Stoecker.<\/p>\n

Dog trainer Graeme Hall and YouTube creator John Nellis round out the full lineup for the new series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole criticised the show’s latest celebrity cast as he reacted to Saturday’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1578,921,93,61,60,8642,40822,1580,282],"class_list":["post-631841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-itv","tag-sgg","tag-strictly-come-dancing","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}