Strictly row as Jeremy Kyle has heated clash with pro dancer over ‘woke’ line-up

Jeremy Kyle and former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard were at loggerheads.

AJ and his former Love Island brother Curtis Pritchard appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Piers Morgan Uncensored on talkTV alongside host and former TV Critic Kevin O’Sullivan.

Kyle was in the hot seat as he filled in for the former Good Morning Britain anchor who temporarily stepped away from hosting duties to compete at the Dunhill Links golf Pro-Am.

READ MORE: Strictly's Ellie Simmonds targeted by trolls after BBC launch show as star opens up

But during the show, the quartet came to blows over disagreements over the direction of the long-running BBC Show.

Jeremy began the debate explaining: "So Strictly Come Dancing was once the staple of Saturday night TV with over 10 million people tuning in every week,"

He continued: "But there are now claims it has become a ‘box-ticking exercise’ and has become so woke it’s unwatchable.

From having same-sex couples with absolutely zero chemistry to Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds who has knocked down barriers her whole life, but how will the show’s first contestant with dwarfism be able to perform dances like the tango and the waltz when her dance partner is twice her size?"

Although AJ and Curtis, who was a pro-dancer on the Irish version of the dance show, tried to defend the ballroom franchise, Kevin quickly chimed in to slam the show suggesting the dance competition has lost its spark.

Kevin quipped: "I used to have to watch Strictly every week because in another life I was a TV critic. The point is, I respect the fact that it was a great show that millions of people absolutely love."

The talkRADIO host continued: "The BBC has turned it into a sort of woke-fest with single-sex couples, we’ve got Ellie now with dwarfism, they’re very proud of that."

This comes as the presenter noted that the Saturday night primetime show no longer attracts the same numbers it once used too.

Carrying on with his point, the former The Wright Stuff television personality questioned whether the audience who watches the talent dancing show want to see the diverse cast.

He asked: "Now that’s fine, if the BBC want to do that, that’s fine. But they should ask themselves, ’Is that what the audience wants?’

Kevin also noted: "Because in my day when I had to watch it, the launch show used to get 15 million, this launch show just now got just over six million. So the audience seems to be saying no."

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