A day after Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Thomas Skinner walked out of the BBC show's first press event, it seems he will remain part of this season's cast. Thomas, 34, who is best known for appearing on The Apprentice, had been answering questions from journalists alongside Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when he walked out. The 34-year-old reportedly took issue with being taped and grabbed a reporter's phone before leaving the press conference all together, per Mail Online. HELLO! has reached out to the BBC for a comment.
Now, Thomas has taken to Instagram to set the record straight after walking out of the press conference. In a statement, he said: "To set the record straight off the back of yesterday. During one of the interviews, a journalist placed their phone on the table to record the conversation. I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages – not about Strictly – but about a personal story from my past."
"I've been through some difficult times in my life, which I’ve worked hard to move on from. In that moment, seeing it there caught me off guard. I felt it was best to step away and gather myself. This had nothing to do with the interviews or Strictly itself. I’m sorry I picked up someone else's phone and I don't even know if the journalist realised their messages were visible, and I don't want to suggest any bad intentions on their part. What I do want to say is how excited I am to be part of Strictly this year. I'm so grateful for all the love, kindness and support I've been shown so far. It means the world to me, and I can't wait to give it my all on that dancefloor. Bosh."
HELLO! Senior Writer Matthew Moore, who was in attendance of the press conference said: "While I didn't see him personally leave, I remember seeing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink walking by me, evidently following Thomas to check on him, which struck me as odd as he should have been interviewing. When I looked over to where they should have been, all there was was a table of baffled-looking journalists. When the event ended, we all gathered to find out and it seems like he took umbrage to something on a journalist's phone, but he was laughing and joking with us when we spoke to him at the start."
Controversial hiring
The former Apprentice star's hiring faced a wave of backlash with fans of the dancing competition taking issue with his brand of targeting seemingly 'woke' content. He has been seen as an increasingly political figure, and over the weekend, the businessman met with US Vice President JD Vance, another controversial figure.
Common complaints have been about Thomas's views and whether he is as the right fit for a show that celebrates diversity. Some comments even specifically highlighted the show's LGBTQ+ visibility as well as its professional line-up, who often hail from countries outside of the UK. Thomas has seemingly distanced himself from the political sphere, saying that he is neither right-wing nor left-wing, describing himself simply as someone who "loves his country".
© BBCThe announcement generated a lot of responses, both negative and positive. One fan wrote: "Absolutely disgusting booking. Shameful BBC," while a second added: "Thought this was one of those fake accounts what are we doing here," and a third penned: "What's that you hear?? Oh… it's the sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped. Seriously strictly [expletive] is this signing?!"
A rollercoaster pre-season
The lead-up to series 15 of Strictly has been nothing but eventful with contestants dropping out last minute and major shakeups plaguing the show. Earlier this month, the beloved programme upset dedicated fans when they announced that phone voting would be phased out for this upcoming season. In an explanation on their website, the BBC confirmed that it would instead focus on online voting.
"For years, shows like Strictly Come Dancing, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and Eurovision let viewers vote by calling premium-rate numbers," they explained on their website. "However, this is now an outdated system and also expensive to run. Online voting has become the go-to choice for most viewers. In fact, the overwhelming majority of votes for the last series were cast online. And earlier this year, BT, the company that provided these phone services for the BBC, announced it would stop offering them in early 2025."
