Strictly Come Dancing professional Nadiya Bychkova has cleared up speculation about why she wasn’t partnered with a celebrity during last year’s series.

Nadiya has been with the show since 2017, and while she did appear in Strictly group dances last year, she wasn’t part of the main competition as she didn’t have a celebrity partner.

In a new interview with The Sun, she admitted she found last year’s series a particularly “difficult” one.

“Last year was a very different experience because I didn’t have a partner,” she recalled. “It was difficult.”

Insisting that we shouldn’t believe everything we read, she added: “The reason I was given was that the run was much shorter and there weren’t as many celebrities.

“I saw the rumours that I wasn’t given a partner because of my flirting. But the thing is, I really haven’t done anything wrong.

“After so many years on the show, I think everyone should be able to see that the Strictly curse hasn’t hit me or my dance partners. So why should I change anything when I haven’t done anything?”

During her time at Strictly, Nadiya has been paired with EastEnders actor Davood Ghadami, Blue singer Lee Ryan and footballer David James.

Nadiya is engaged to Slovenian footballer Matija Skarabot, with whom she has a four-year-old daughter.

It’s highly likely Nadiya will be back dancing with a celebrity contestant when Strictly returns at the end of this year, with Craig Revel Horwood teasing recently that we should expect a full series, after last year’s reduced run.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Craig told Good Morning Britain. “I think the BBC did an amazing job and have protocols in place for absolutely every single situation, so you will get Strictly and a much fuller version this year.”