‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judge Craig Revel Horwood has slammed the show’s professional dancers, following claims they are seeking pay rises.
The panellist took aim at his co-stars telling them to “go and do Cats for 200 quid a week” if they believed they were badly paid.
It followed claims earlier this year that the pros had allegedly “ganged together” to demand an increase on their reported £50,000 fee from BBC bosses.
Speaking to The Sun about the matter, Craig said: “This show puts them in the limelight. If they are doing what they normally do, which is competitive dance up in Blackpool, there would be 500 people interested.
“There is 12 million people interested in this show. They have all got Twitter accounts and they are all making money on the side doing something else. I think, ‘Isn’t that enough?’
“Go and do Cats for 200 quid a week and then see how you feel,” he added.
The Sun reported in September that the group each pocket £50,000 per series - a figure that they said doesn’t change depending on length of service or at which point they are voted off. It is also dwarfed by the reported six-figure sums the judges receive.
The pro dancers can work up anywhere up to 12 hours a day, often for six days a week during the series, as they train their partners, attend group dance rehearsals, and show run-throughs before the live episodes.
However, pro dancer Oti Mabuse later denied reports the dancers were seeking a rise, insisting they are “very lucky to get whatever fee” they do get.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: “There is no pay row with any of the dancers. We don’t have time to be rowing, we’re too busy focusing on the competition.
“We are happy and very grateful to be on TV and have a job. We’re very lucky to be on ‘Strictly’ and get whatever fee we do get.”
A BBC spokesperson previously declined to comment on the matter when approached by HuffPost UK.
Craig is not the first ‘Strictly’ judge to address the pro dancers’ pay packets, with Bruno Tonioli previously telling the dancers to “stop moaning” about their pay.
The star, who is reported to earn £150,000 per series, told The Mirror in 2015: “Those are the terms of the negotiations. If you don’t like it, stop moaning and fuck off. The BBC will never pay the kind of fees that ITV will pay.
“‘Strictly’ has not made me a millionaire. I still live in the same apartment I bought in 1991, before Strictly. But I never moan. The BBC do a wonderful job.”