Strictly star claims he was ‘stitched up’ by BBC bosses over ‘manipulated’ romance

A former Strictly Come Dancing star has spoken out, claiming he was ‘stitched up’ by the BBC show’s bosses during his time on the show, which saw him split from his partner

A Strictly Come Dancing star did not hold back

A former Strictly Come Dancing star has hit out at the BBC show bosses, claiming he felt ‘stitched up’ by the programme in a new shock rant.

Former Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle, who competed on Strictly in 2009, and was partnered with professional dancer Natalie Lowe during his time on the show. The Calvin Valentine actor, 45, ended up become the show’s runner-up of the series, finishing in second place behind sports presenter Chris Hollins.

However, 16 years after he left the Strictly ballroom, he has hit out at the show, claiming producers ‘manipulated’ a romance between himself and his dance partner Natalie, 45.

Ricky Whittle was partnered with Natalie Lowe on Strictly in 2009(Image: PA)

Ricky Whittle has hit out at Strictly bosses(Image: BBC)

During his stint on the show, Ricky was dating Carly Stenson, who played Steph Cunningham on Hollyoaks. Carly, 43, even supported Ricky while on Strictly during the initial stages of his time in the competition. But, their romance wasn’t to last and appeared to fall foul to the so-called ‘Strictly curse’ as they split in the early stages of the competition amid claims Ricky had grown close to his Aussie dance partner Natalie, who left Strictly in 2017.

Now, Ricky has hit out at the show, claiming: “The BBC totally stitched me up, they manipulated a romance, they fixed it so that we were the romantic couple.”

He added to the Daily Mail: “They manipulated interviews in the VTs shown during the show. I remember them asking me questions about Natalie like, ‘Was seeing her the best part of your day?’ or me saying she was amazing, and they cut together with soft, beautiful music in the background.

Ricky was dating Carly Stenson during his time on Strictly, but they split soon into the show(Image: PA)

Carly is now married to Danny Mac

“They knew what they were doing. Other couples were the ones who argued, but Natalie and I were the romantic couple.” The BBC declined to comment when contacted by the Mirror online.

Since his stint on the show, Ricky moved over to the US in 2012. He now lives in Los Angeles and has appeared in a string of movies and television shows, including Netflix’s Nappily Ever After and thriller film Land Of The Bad.

Meanwhile, Ricky’s ex-girlfriend Carley fell in love with Mark ‘Dodger’ Savage actor Danny Mac. The pair tied the knot in 2017 and share two children together; a daughter named Skye Bella, who was born in 2021, and a son named Beauie Mac, born in 2024.

Danny also appeared on Strictly in 2016, and Carly revealed she wasn’t worried about the dreaded Strictly curse with her then-fiancé Danny. She revealed Danny had asked her permission to take part in the series.

She told The Sun: “He said to me ‘Do you want me to do it? If you don’t want me to do it I won’t’ and I said ‘Are you kidding? Do it!’

“I’m not really worried, it wasn’t that [the Ricky situation] as that was so long ago,” she explained. “He just knows we’re both very private so he was like ‘This is going to catapult us a little bit’ so I was like ‘No babe, do it’.”