Thomas Skinner, a contestant on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, abruptly left the show's first press event on Tuesday after a confrontation with a journalist, prompting organisers to hold crisis talks about whether he should remain on the programme.
The incident took place at Elstree Studios during a scheduled media session. According to reports, Skinner sat at a table with fellow contestant Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink before walking out after being recorded on a journalist's phone. The Daily Mail reported that Skinner took the phone from the table during a brief tussle before the device was recovered and he left the event after completing two interviews.
Organisers and BBC staff at the venue responded quickly after Skinner's departure. A source told the Daily Mail that BBC escorts temporarily removed Hasselbaink from the table while they sought to locate Skinner, and that senior production staff later held meetings to discuss the situation. The source described the exit as "unprecedented" for a celebrity at the show's launch and said bosses were "furious".
The episode came hours after BBC director-general Tim Davie defended the decision to include Skinner in this year's cast while giving evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Davie told MPs that the production team selected participants it believed would interest audiences and said the corporation would not tolerate views it considered "beyond the pale," including racism. "That was not my decision, that was the production team looking for those people… who want to do Strictly," Davie said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
Skinner has been the focus of public criticism in recent weeks after he was photographed at a barbecue with JD Vance, the former US vice-presidential pick, and later described Vance as a "proper gent." He has denied being right-wing and said the backlash has affected him and his family. "I’m not right wing," Skinner told the Daily Mail in a recent interview. "People are like sheep and just started saying it because I got invited to go to bbq with JD Vance and I posted a picture with him. Who is gonna turn down an opportunity to meet the 2nd most powerful man in the world?"
Producers and BBC executives are accustomed to heightened scrutiny around high-profile shows, but sources said the combination of public complaints, social media reaction and the press-event disruption has prompted internal discussions about Skinner's suitability for the series. The corporation stated publicly that casting decisions were made by the production company and that it would not accept participants whose views were "completely unacceptable." No formal decision regarding Skinner's place on the show was announced on Tuesday.
Skinner, 34, rose to national attention on the 2019 series of The Apprentice. He has since built a following as an entrepreneur and media personality and has appeared on Celebrity MasterChef. He has previously acknowledged legal trouble in his youth, saying on social media that he had been arrested and had paid the price for convictions but later turned his life around and worked on community projects.
Strictly's new lineup for the 2025 series includes a range of public figures from sport, acting and entertainment. Hasselbaink, who was at the table with Skinner during Tuesday's incident, remains listed among the contestants.
Representatives for the BBC and the production company behind Strictly did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Skinner did not issue an immediate statement beyond his earlier comments to the press about the social-media backlash and his insistence that he is not politically aligned to the right.
The show's producers now face the task of weighing viewer complaints and the consequences of the off-camera confrontation against programming and contractual considerations, with any final decision expected to follow internal reviews.