{"id":505008,"date":"2026-03-31T10:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505008\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:27:13","slug":"strictly-come-dancing-all-the-dancers-leaving-the-show-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505008\/","title":{"rendered":"Strictly Come Dancing: All the dancers leaving the show so far"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced<\/a> that they were leaving Strictly Come Dancing<\/a>, fans were prepared for the show to undergo a bit of a shake-up.<\/p>\n

What they couldn’t have predicted was that along with the hosts, a number of the show’s longest standing professional dancers beloved by fans would also be saying goodbye to the show.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, it was reported that five of the show’s pros<\/a> \u2013 including the longest serving female dancer \u2013 would not be returning.<\/p>\n

\"StrictlyStrictly is saying goodbye to a number of fan-favourite dancers (BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n

Four of the dancers, all of them female, have since confirmed their exits. Another, Spanish pro Gorka M\u00e1rquez has also reportedly been given the axe<\/a>, although he is yet to comment on this.<\/p>\n

Here are all the dancers saying goodbye to the Strictly ballroom so far\u2026<\/p>\n

Karen Hauer<\/p>\n

\"HauerHauer with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in the 2025 series (CREDIT LINE:BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n

The first dancer to announce her Strictly departure<\/a> was Karen Hauer<\/a>, who had been the show’s longest standing remaining female pro after 14 years on the dance competition. The dancer was known for her spicy Latin routines, reaching the final with Mark Wright in 2014 and Jamie Laing in 2020. She also performed in one of the show\u2019s same-sex partnerships, when she danced with Jayde Adams in 2022.<\/p>\n

In a video posted to Instagram, Hauer, 43, broke down in tears while saying that it was the \u201cright time\u201d for her to leave the show and \u201ctake on new projects in other areas that I\u2019m passionate about\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan-American dancer, who was previously married to former Strictly pro Kevin Clifton, also singled out the show’s welfare staff for \u201ctaking such good care\u201d of the Strictly pros.<\/p>\n

In a heartfelt statement, the BBC<\/a> said: \u201cAs the longest-serving female professional dancer in the history of the show, Karen has given so much of herself and her time to the programme, and we are extremely grateful for the passion, creativity and dedication she has brought to every single performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadiya Bychkova<\/p>\n

\"BychkovaBychkova dancing with her final partner, Chris Robshaw (BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n

The next exit confirmed by the BBC<\/a> was that of Ukrainian dancer Nadiya Bychkova, who joined the show in 2017 and had a celebrity partner in seven of her nine years on Strictly.<\/p>\n

The tallest female pro, Nadiya, 36, was often paired with the taller male celebrities such as Dan Walker (who she reached quarter-final with), Bros\u2019s Matt Goss, and most recently Chris Robshaw.<\/p>\n

Confirming rumours of her departure on Wednesday (25 March), Bychkova wrote: \u201cAfter nine wonderful years, this part of my journey with Strictly Come Dancing is evolving\u2026 This isn\u2019t the end. I look forward to being part of the Strictly world for many years to come in ways I am beginning to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC released their own statement praising the mother-of-one, saying: \u201cNadiya has brought elegance, artistry and unwavering dedication to the ballroom, and she will always remain a cherished member of the Strictly family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luba Mushtuk<\/p>\n

\"MushtukMushtuk dancing with Nicholas Bailey in the ‘Strictly’ Christmas special (BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n

On Friday (27 March), Russian pro Luba Mushtuk shared that she, too, was leaving Strictly<\/a>. Mushtuk had a dance partner in four of her eight years as a dancer on the show; her most successful pairing was with Adam Thomas in 2023, where the pair finished in ninth.<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old wrote on Instagram that she would be leaving with \u201ca heart full of gratitude\u201d, adding: \u201cThe time has come for me to step away from Strictly Come Dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC quickly paid tribute to Mushtuk, who first competed on the show in the 2018 Children in Need special. \u201cSince joining in 2016 as an assistant choreographer and stepping into the professional dancer line-up two years later, Luba has been a valued member of the team \u2013 bringing professionalism, creativity, and her quality expertise year after year,\u201d the post on the show\u2019s social media account read.<\/p>\n

While she will not return to the show for its 2026 series, Mushtuk is still competing on the upcoming Strictly: The Professionals UK tour, which kicks off at the end of April. M\u00e1rquez, the Spanish dancer also rumoured to be leaving the show, is also taking part in the tour.<\/p>\n

Michelle Tsiakkas<\/p>\n

\"TsiakkasTsiakkas danced with Brian McFadden in the 2025 Christmas special, having not received a partner in the main series (BBC\/Guy Levy)<\/p>\n

Strictly confirmed Michelle Tsiakkas\u2019 departure from the show<\/a> on Tuesday (31 March).<\/p>\n

The Cypriot dancer, 30, joined the show in 2022, but only competed in 2024, when she was paired with Jamie Borthwick. <\/p>\n

In aa statement, the BBC said: \u201cThank you to Michelle Tsiakkas for everything she has brought to Strictly Come Dancing over the past four series,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring her time on the show, Michelle has delivered some excellent performances, whether in the series\u2019 group routines, alongside guest music artists, or with celebrity partners across the main series and the Christmas special whom she has always taught with professionalism, respect and kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her first interview following the reports, Tsiakkas said that her exit from the show<\/a> had been conveyed to her over Zoom and had come \u201cout of the blue\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like my world was falling apart, my dream was shattered. I gave my everything to the show for the four years \u2013 it was my whole life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-505008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}