Former The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner's time on Strictly Come Dancing has come to a quick end, after he and professional dance partner Amy Dowden were the first duo voted off from the 2025 season this weekend. But while his time on Strictly was short, it certainly generated a lot of discussion.
The TV personality and businessman has been seen as a controversial figure to some for a while, due to his political social media posts and friendship with current US Vice President JD Vance, and discourse has only heated up since he was announced as part of the cast for this year's Strictly.
Following his confirmation, reports appeared online about an alleged affair that happened weeks after he married his other half Sinead.
Then came the news that he grabbed a reporter's phone at a Strictly press conference before walking out of the event (via BBC News). He admitted to that and apologised for his behaviour, explaining via social media: "I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages – not about Strictly, but about a personal story from my past."
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He later addressed the cheating rumours specifically, stating that he "didn't have a 3 month affair" and called it "one stupid moment I'll carry forever".
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"It was nothing more and nothing less despite what is being said," he added in the same post. "I told her straight away. She had every right to leave me back then, but she forgave me."
In multiple posts, he alludes to receiving "death threats" from users, and said in response to them: "I ain't gonna kill myself like some of you want."
Skinner shared a screenshot of an alleged death threat in his Direct Messages from an unidentified user, although that post has since been deleted. A screenshot of the post was uploaded by another user who claimed that he had been accused of fabricating that message, although that claim is unsubstantiated.
The former The Apprentice star did not address that specific claim, but in general has said that while things said about him "don't bother me", he has asked that people "leave my wife and kids alone".
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Skinner and Dowden found themselves in the first Dance-Off of the season after their salsa to Dizzee Rascal and Armand van Helden's 'Bonkers' was the lowest-scoring dance of week two. A week earlier, their paso doble to 'Battle Without Honor or Humanity' by Hotei was placed third from the bottom on the leaderboard.
Following the judges all voting to save Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova, Dowden got visibly tearful and praised her celebrity partner for supporting her and providing a fun environment for her.
"I've got to know the real Tom, and he is adorable. He's looked after me. We've laughed so much. We've worked so hard, and a glitterball would have been amazing," she said.
"The last three years, as you know, have been quite difficult for me," Dowden continued. "I lost all confidence as a dancer — but walking into the room with you with a massive smile and a laugh, you brought me back and, honestly, thank you."
The duo are set to appear on Strictly: It Takes Two tonight. Will they discuss all the drama?
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
