‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judge Shirley Ballas has branded Brendan Cole “confrontational” as she addressed their so-called feud.
There have been rumours of a fall out-between the pair after Brendan challenged her judgement of one of his and Charlotte Hawkins’ performances earlier in the series.
Shirley has now had her say on the matter, hinting she and Brendan are not exactly best pals behind the scenes.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: “He’s confrontational. Every other professional was extremely respectful, very well-mannered, ‘How are you Mrs Ballas? You’re doing a good job’.”
Admitting she was “surprised” by his behaviour, she continued: “I got my feelings hurt because when he was with Camilla [Dallerup] all those years ago they came to our home, had dinner. But again, in my industry I’m used to that.
Brendan was in the running for Shirley’s job, after former Head Judge Len Goodman stepped down at the end of the last series.
However, he ultimately lost out on the role, after Shirley impressed bosses with her screen test.
He previously spoke out about reports of their feud, and while he joked about claims he had ignored her backstage, he did go on to tell ‘Lorraine’: “I don’t necessarily like what she was doing to us and our little journey on ‘Strictly’, [but] the BBC are loving her and the fans are loving her – some are hating her…”
“I tend to be more argumentative than the rest of the pros,” he continued. “The rest will be [in the dressing rooms yelling] left, right and centre, but I don’t control myself for the change room, I have to do it live on air.
“I’m a nice person – my wife will tell you. I don’t hold back and morally I’m big on doing the right thing at the right time and I had to stick up for Charlotte from Shirley.”
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ concludes on Saturday at 6.30pm on BBC One.