STRICTLY Come Dancing viewers were confused when they spotted a problem with Jamie Borthwick’s professional pairing.
This isn’t the first time the EastEnders actor has appeared on the show, as he previously participated in the Christmas Special last year.
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Jamie, known for his role as Jay Brown on EastEnders, participated in the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
He was partnered with professional dancer Nancy Xu, and their festive performance earned them the Christmas champion title.
Fans found it unusual that Jamie, who had previously been paired with Nancy, was instead paired with Michelle Tsiakkas for the main series.
Viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to point out how odd it seemed.
One user wrote: “I have no idea why they didn’t put Nancy and Jamie together!!”
Another added: “Not going to lie, I really wanted Nancy to be with Jamie again! But, I’m 100% sure Jamie and Michelle will be amazing.”
Just the series began, a third fan penned: “He was brilliant with Nancy on the Christmas special last year. I hope he gets paired with her again for the main series. He’ll definitely be one to watch.”
A fourth fan who was supportive of Jamie’s new pairing wrote: “I love that Michelle is getting a decent partner on her first year with a celeb. I’m glad that the producers didn’t do the obvious by putting Nancy & Jamie together.”
Jamie received several playful digs and was accused of cheating by his fellow celebs during the launch show due to his previous participation in the Christmas Special.
When host Claudia Winkleman turned to Jamie to talk to him at one point, Wynne Evans called out “cheat!”
Moments later, Claudia spoke to Pete Wicks about his decision to take part on the show, and if he was going to fully embrace the process and the bright, glittery costumes.
Pete said he was, as “you’re only here once” before adding with perfect timing: “Unless you’re Jamie”.
But as everyone laughed, Strictly viewers were quick to take to X about the jibes, and point out Jamie isn’t the only 2024 star who has been on the show before.
One wrote: “Everyone’s going on about Jamie doing the Christmas special last year but JB also did it in 2012.”
Another added: “So two of the celebrities this year have already won the Christmas special are we running out of celebs now.”
A third also pointed out that everyone seems to be forgetting JB did the Christmas Special in 2012 with former pro Ola Jordan.
They wrote: “Is nobody going to address the Christmas JB shaped elephant in the room #Strictly.”
In fact, JB also won the festive glitterball trophy during the 2012 Christmas Special after dancing a Jive.
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