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Strictly stars reveal their sadness over Aljaz Skorjanec's shock exit

The dancers appeared on This Morning

strictly star sad aljaz exit
Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
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Strictly stars Graziano Di Prima and Nadiya Bychkova have spoken out about Aljaz Skorjanec's shock exit from the BBC show. 

MORE: Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara put on united front with sweet selfie after Strictly shock

The professional dancers, who are currently preparing for The Professionals tour, appeared on Thursday's edition of This Morning and revealed that it is "weird" to not have him in rehearsals. 

WATCH: Janette Manrara shares bittersweet story behind her career move from dancing to presenting

When Alison Hammond mentioned his departure from the show, Nadiya started: "Just the thought of him not being there…," before Graziano said: "It's so weird to not have Aljaz on the show. He's one of the guys in the room, he is the one who will literally make us laugh and say, 'Come on guys, let's push, let's go.' We are going to miss him so much."

MORE: Janette Manrara breaks silence after Aljaz Skorjanec's 'heartbreaking' decision to quit Strictly

READ: Strictly Come Dancing: the professional dancers who quit the show and why

"Well, you know Aljaz,' said Nadiya to Alison, who was partnered with the dancer for the 11th series of the show. Alison responded: "He really pushed me."

nadia graziano© Photo: Rex

Graziano and Nadiya appeared on This Morning

"To be honest with you, I pushed him," she joked, before adding: "It was such a lovely experience."

Aljaz announced his departure from the dancing show at the end of March. In a statement to Instagram, the 32-year-old revealed that he made the decision "a little while ago" and that he has "exciting stuff" planned for the future.

He also gave a touching tribute to his wife, Janette Manrara, who left the show last year to present It Takes Two alongside Rylan Clark.

aljaz jannette

Aljaz recently announced his departure from the show

The dancer wrote: "To my bucka.. from picking songs, creating stories and choreographing steps we always did it as a team. Your talent and selflessness knows no bounds. We were dating when we started together on the show and now we are husband and wife. We got to perform with Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, BBC Symphony Orchestra.. moments I will keep in my heart forever. I LOVE YOU!"

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