Five BBC Strictly Come Dancing pros axed because 'their stars are fading'

BBC Strictly Come Dancing is set to axe five stars due to fears their star is "fading". But Strictly Come Dancing bosses have come under fire from BBC viewers over reports it'll swing the axe on Nadiya Bychkova, Katya Jones, Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez and Neil Jones in a huge cull.

"This is so tone deaf! The pros are what the people love. People follow and support the pros as much, if not more, than the celebs. Wake up and axe a couple of the judges!" one social media user fumed. Another added: "NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Leave it alone! We love the favourite pros."

A third typed: "If they do this then I predict the show won’t last for much longer.. Dropping Gorka would be a huge mistake, he’s the reason many of us watch!" Another wrote: "Strictly is nothing without the pros. they have dedicated their lives to perfecting their craft and have sacrificed everything to get to where they are. yet are the most under appreciated people there. they don’t even get their names in the credits."

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Another wrote in response to the reports today: "It dosent need a new lease of life, people have their favourite pros. They actually need to go back to basics and stop with the themed weeks, over/ under marking and dreadful songs choices for the dances."

A TV insider said: “The review of the line-up has always been about making a fresh start, and that was always going to be affected by which dancers performed well this series. The feeling is that the Strictly troupe is made up of some fading stars, while others are rising stars.

“And in many cases there are certain characters whose shoes can easily be filled with younger, up-and-coming counterparts." They added to the Sun newspaper today: “It’s harsh but it’s just part of the traditional turnover of showbusiness."