Former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Brendan Cole has hit out at ‘Dancing On Ice’ judge Jason Gardiner.
Brendan gave his thoughts on Jason’s judging style during an interview on ‘Loose Women’, after he attracted criticism in the wake of his row with ‘DOI’ contestant Gemma Collins during Sunday night’s show.
“He’s vicious,” Brendan told the panel. “I don’t agree with viciousness. If you’ve got something to say, say it constructively.”
While admitting he wasn’t familiar on the “in and outs of the story” behind Jason and Gemma’s row, he did admit the former ‘TOWIE’ star’s approach of accusing the judge of “selling stories” live on air wasn’t the best.
“She didn’t come across particularly when she did it, in my opinion,” he said. “However, if she feels it, she should be saying it, but it’s about how you say it.”
When the ‘Loose Women’ panel pointed out Jason had also made comments about Gemma’s weight, remarking how ‘DOI’ viewers were “not going to see any big lifts” from her, Brendan said: “That’s what I mean about the nastiness, because you don’t speak to someone like that in normal life.
“We’re still human beings, and as soon as we lose respect like that, it’s like politics... this is a real thing in society at the moment. On a normal basis, we do not speak to our colleagues or family and friends like that, yet in politics they are screaming and shouting at each other and there’s a real disrespect.”
As the panel offered comparisons between Jason’s judging style and that of Craig Revel Horwood on ‘Strictly’, Brendan was quick to defend his former co-star.
“I love Craig on Strictly,” he said. “He does it with a little bit of lightness and I appreciate that – he’s my favourite judge. There’s never a nasty undertone, it’s always with a light-hearted tone. ”
Kaye Adams then insisted Jason’s on-air persona was very different to what he is like in real life, Brendan diplomatically replied: “I’ve only met him once off air, but... it’s an odd one.”
Brendan has been on the receiving end of Jason’s barbed tongue before, after he dismissed the idea of Brendan joining the ‘Dancing On Ice’ panel following his axing as a professional on ‘Strictly’.
He told HuffPost UK last year: “I don’t know if it would be the best move of ITV to employ somebody who’s been rejected from the court of dancing on the BBC, because then it would look like they were getting their sloppy seconds.”
Meanwhile, Gemma has said she “had to say my bit” to Jason on last week’s show because she “don’t need to be body-shamed”.
“I put up with body-shaming for years,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what your size is, why shouldn’t I, because I’m a plus-size girl, be successful, be on ‘Dancing On Ice’?
“I will be get an OBE from the Queen one day [for] changing the women’s movement.”
Jason has also spoken out about the row to insist he did not sell stories on Gemma to the press, calling her accusations “salacious” and “libellous”.