Strictly Come Dancing: Brendan Cole breaks his silence on Shirley Ballas feud

Brendan Cole has broken his silence on his alleged rift with Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, confessing that he can get “more argumentative” than the rest of the show’s professional dancers.

Brendan’s comments come one day after it was claimed that the 41-year-old star had been caught “hurling abuse” at Shirley after the cameras stopped rolling on Saturday night, with Brendan insisting that it has been taken slightly out of context.

Speaking on Lorraine earlier today, Brendan said of his bad boy image: “I bring it upon myself. I tend to get a bit more argumentative than the rest of the professionals.

“The other professionals get in the changing room and give it. I can’t control myself and wait until I get to the changing room.”

He continued: “If someone’s under-marked, we all stand up and shout. So that means I’m ‘hurling abuse’. Poetic justice.”

Brendan also rubbished claims that he creates a hostile environment behind the scenes, telling Lorraine Kelly: “I haven’t seen Shirley backstage to ignore her. If I see you backstage, Shirley, I’m going to ignore you in principle!”

Summing up, the dancer said: “I don’t hold back. If I believe something I say it. I’m big on morals. I had to stick up for Charlotte and the stuff she was getting from the judges – in particularly Shirley – which is where all this stuff has come from.

“I do tend to get a reaction whenever I’m on air. A lot of people are going to not like what I do. I never mean any offence by anything I do on-screen.”

It had previously been claimed that Brendan is “bitter” at missing out on the job of head judge after Len Goodman quit the BBC One dance show last year, publicly locking horns with Shirley on more than one occasion.

Judge Bruno Tonioli previously blasting Brendan as “disrespectful” when he argued with Shirley over his celebrity partner Charlotte Hawkins’ score during one of the live shows.

When Shirley suggested that Brendan play back the dance to understand why she had given Charlotte a three, Brendan snapped back: “I will my dear, I will” – forcing Bruno to intervene, telling the dancer: “I’m not an expert – I’ve only done 300 shows – but I think she’s right and you should be more respectful to a lady.”

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