Brendan Cole 'Gutted' by Backlash to Amy Dowden Critique

Brendan Cole, a former professional dancer on the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing," is said to be "gutted" and "quite upset" following a backlash to his critique of professional dancer Amy Dowden's performance. Cole's comments, made in an interview, suggested Dowden had "hasn't been up to the challenge" of training a celebrity partner this season.

Dowden and her celebrity partner were the first to be eliminated from the current series. Following their exit, Cole stated in an interview that he felt Dowden "hasn't been doing a very good job" for the last few years and questioned if she was "up to the challenge" of being a "Strictly" pro.

James Jordan, a close friend of Cole's and a former "Strictly" professional himself, revealed Cole's reaction to the criticism. "It wasn't what people think; he never meant it in that way, and he's actually quite upset about the whole thing," Jordan told the Daily Mail. Jordan added that Cole believes his comments were "blown all out of proportion" and taken out of context.

"He was just asked about her dancing. He wasn't asked about any of that," Jordan explained, referring to Dowden's ongoing health journey. "So this makes him look really, really bad when he didn't mean it in the way that it's now been all blown out of proportion, which is a shame, really."

Dowden, who has publicly shared her battle with cancer, responded to the critique on social media with a video in which she lip-synced to Mariah Carey's song "Obsessed." She captioned the post with "#bekind #inaworldyoucanbeanythingbekind," a move that was widely praised by viewers and fans on Instagram.

Fans flooded the comments section with support for Dowden, with many expressing solidarity and disagreeing with Cole's assessment. "Keep shining - perfect response," one user commented, while another wrote, "You are an icon of all queens. Your one in a million!!!" Several users echoed sentiments that Cole's comments were harsh, with one stating, "Amy girl none of us agree with that bitter man. We love you Queen!!!!!"

Cole's original comments suggested that for the past few years, Dowden's performances had not been strong, citing her early eliminations. "Amy has not been up to the challenge, in my opinion," he said. "I don't think Amy's been doing a very good job for the last few years and she's been out first for the last few years. One can do the maths on that."

Dowden, 36, was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in May 2023 and underwent treatment. She announced in February 2024 that she was officially cancer-free, though she continues with regular check-ups and follow-up treatments as part of her recovery plan. She had previously returned to "Strictly" in 2024 after a health-related withdrawal during the prior season.

Jordan indicated that Cole does not plan to issue a public apology, believing he did nothing wrong and that the situation has been misconstrued. "He's just a bit gutted about the whole thing because he said I didn't mean it in the way that everyone's saying that, but what can you do?" Jordan remarked.