Strictly Come Dancing row erupts as BBC blasted for unveiling ‘controversial white man’ Tom Skinner as shock contestant
TV star Narinder Kaur has slammed the BBC after Strictly Come Dancing unveiled ex-Apprentice icon Tom Skinner as a shock contestant.
Mr Skinner, 34, who was recently snapped alongside US Vice President JD Vance, will challenge ex-Love Island contestant Dani Dyer and former Chelsea star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the coveted prize in the 2025 season.
However, Ms Kaur, a Jeremy Vine panellist and former Big Brother star, claimed she was deemed too controversial to participate in the competition.
The 52-year-old said: “Apparently I was deemed too controversial for @bbcstrictly because they only hire quiet brown and black women that fit in a box.
“But you can be a white man AND be controversial and you’ll be hired on the spot! Hello Thomas Skinner!!”
She added: “There’s only so much you can say in a short video, but I felt something many others have been feeling all day and that was complete shock and utter bewilderment – to see Thomas be announced in the line-up, considering all the rhetoric about how people with right-wing opinions are cancelled and not allowed on the BBC.
“I’ve debated Tom on Good Morning Britain before, I supported his book release at his launch party, there is a huge disparity in what certain demographics of people are allowed to say and still get one show after another.
“I met the Strictly team at the TV Choice Awards earlier this year and got talking to one of the bookers about the show generally – and she said ‘You’re a bit too controversial and we can’t have that for the show’.”
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