Former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professionals Kristina Rihanoff and Ola Jordan have hit out at reports they were embroiled in a bitter feud on the show.
The Sun published a story claiming the pro dancers had fallen out before both quitting the BBC ballroom competition last year, suggesting they were at odds over who would take centre stage as the most glamorous star.
A source had told the paper: “Ola and Kristina were friends but jealousy took over and it created an incredibly uncomfortable atmosphere for all of the pros.
However, both Ola and Kristina have blasted the article as “nasty” and “stupid”, claiming they have always been friends.
Also making a jibe at the BBC, Ola wrote:
Kristina added that the pair were still very much in touch, despite both no longer being on the show:
When one fan tweeted about his upset at the rumoured feud, she also responded:
Ola revealed she was leaving ‘Strictly’ during the 2015 series, with Kristina announcing her departure shortly afterwards.
The pair were also at the centre of reports they were banned from ‘Strictly’, after both they and their partners were voted off last year, with bosses becoming fed up of their off-air behaviour.
Kristina, was said to have upset producers after she attended the recording of rival show ‘X Factor’, while producers were furious with Ola when she made a series of negative comments about the show in an interview she gave when she quit.
And while both women claim not to have fallen out, Ola’s husband James previously blasted Kristina for announcing her pregnancy in the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house, when she appeared on the reality show in January.
“I like Kristina a lot but sometimes she doesn’t think before she acts,” the former pro dancer told New! magazine.
“When someone says in interviews, ‘I don’t want the invasion of my privacy’ - well why did you go on ‘Big Brother’ then? So she contradicts herself. Then she goes on and announces her pregnancy.”
He continued: “That wasn’t right for Ben Cohen’s children and ex-wife to hear. I don’t know his ex, but the feedback I got on Twitter was that 99 per cent of people agree with me.
“There was a reason she said it… She’s clever but it was an insensitive move.”
The new series of ‘Strictly’ began on Saturday (3 September), and saw six new professional dancers introduced, after Aliona Vilani, Gleb Savchenko and Tristian McManus also departed after the last series.
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