Emmerdale actress Claire King – who plays Kim Tate in the ITV soap – starred on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2006 and was paired with Brendan Cole.
However, their time working on the show was far from plain sailing and a resurfaced interview has emerged amid the current complaints facing the dance show in which King hit out at Cole’s “nasty” attitude.
Giovanni Pernice, Graziano Di Prima, Anton Du Beke, Janette Manrara, Ola Jordan and one unnamed female dancer have all been involved in the scandal in one way or another – with their former partners having issues with the way they were treated.
Now, a resurfaced interview from King from 2006 saw her complain about the way Cole treated her, noting that she felt he was “difficult to work with” and ground down her confidence.
The couple finished in sixth place, and following her stint, she told The Mirror’s Sunday People magazine: “He had no faith in me and certainly never did anything to boost my confidence. He’s had a very negative attitude.
“Brendan grinds down my confidence and I don’t feel like he’s given me a lot of support. He has said some really nasty things about me in the press like saying I stink of smoke.
Brendan Cole and Claire King were partnered together back in 2006
BBC
“It takes me longer than the younger contestants to pick things up and Brendan is very intolerant and impatient with me. He’s got a very short temper – both of us have.”
The ongoing complaints and remerging comments come at a time of crisis for the show amid the various “abuse” and “misconduct” investigations – with insiders claiming that the series is “fatally tarnished”.
King’s comments against Cole aren’t the only ones, as former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips also spoke out about his conduct after he was axed from the show in 2020.
She told the Daily Star: “Brendan was a real b****r, actually. He wasn’t very nice. He was really naughty. He’s not on the show now. Karma indeed. It works its way every time.”
Claire King claimed Brendan Cole’s attitude was ‘nasty’
BBC
However, it seems that Cole’s feelings towards his former co-stars were reciprocated as last year he revealed that he “hated” working with half of his celebrity partners.
He told The Mirror: “I’ve had that twice really strongly, where we couldn’t even be in the same studio together.
“I really enjoyed working with half of them and I really hated working with the other half. 60/40 and I’m not sure which way that goes either.”
Cole also revealed that he felt the BBC only showed “one side” of him, and told the Daily Mail during his Dancing on Ice stint: “Strictly only wanted to show one side to me.
“And they really pushed that side of me. There was very much a narrative that the show went with for 15 series.
“And it was tiring because it was actually not me.
Brendan Cole was axed from the series in 2020
BBC
“As you can see I like a bit of fun. I muck around a lot and that wasn’t shown very often and I think it has been shown more on this show.
“And I am very pleased for the way it has been for all of us, we have been shown in really lovely lights which we are. And it has been a really great experience.”
The dance competition is billed to return for its 20th-anniversary special later this year with all the remaining professional dancers stopping for a smiley snap from the rehearsal room on Monday.
BBC director-general Tim Davie also issued an apology on Tuesday to former celebrities who felt their Strictly experience was tarnished.