Tom Skinner broke his silence on his early Strictly Come Dancing exit on Saturday as he ‘seeks legal advice’ after he claimed BBC bosses rigged official voting figures.’
The Apprentice star, 34, had already been deemed a controversial signing due to his outspoken Right-wing views, and was the first star to be voted off the show in October.
In a lengthy post to X, he wrote: ‘As most of you will have seen in the papers, I won’t be at the final of Strictly Come Dancing tonight.
‘First thing I wanna say is this…. I spoke with my lovely dance partner, Amy Dowden to make sure she was okay with me not attending.
‘She’s a good person and a good friend now, I’d never let her down. When I got given the opportunity to do Strictly back in April, I was buzzing.
‘Not because I can dance…. I can’t. But because I really wanted to test myself and Learn something completely out of my comfort zone.’
Tom Skinner broke his silence on his early Strictly Come Dancing exit on Saturday as he ‘seeks legal advice’ after he claimed BBC bosses rigged official voting figures’
The Apprentice star, 34, had been deemed a controversial signing due to his outspoken Right-wing views, and was the first star to be voted off the show in October (pictured last month)
Thomas is now said to be convinced that he can prove he received a larger share of the public vote, which should have saved him from the dance off.
The TV personality continued: ‘On the night I left the show, I received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right. I’ve since had the email independently verified.
‘That same email mentioned the BBC was very angry an nervous simply because I had met JD Vance (USA VICE PRESIDENT). Let me be clear, I’m not a political bloke. Never have been. I just love my country and am patriotic.
‘I’ve been made out by the press to be this political figure. If anyone was to get an opportunity like what I did, they would have taken it.
‘I still think it is mad that a man like me who sells mattresses out of a van can call someone that senior in the world’s politics a friend now.
‘I have asked to see the official voting figures to back up the ones I was sent in the email but was told they couldn’t be shown to me. And have never been shown in the history of the show.
‘I have spoke about the email I had received to senior people and the BBC welfare team, who btw I genuinely respect. And they was the ones who advised me to get legal advice because of how unfair it all was. (This was not my idea).
‘There were also smaller things that added to the feeling. Everyone received a welcome gift on the show….. skincare bits, face masks, that sort of thing. Mine was the only one that “Got Stolen” apparently.
‘On its own, it’s nothing…. but added to everything else, it felt strange. I have been made out to be someone I actually am not simply because I took part in this show.
‘The views were formed from media stories over the summer that simply wasn’t true or exaggerated. It ain’t fair what has happened to me and my family. I also want to say this carefully.
‘After receiving this information and having it verified, a very senior BBC figure has since resigned. I’m not saying that had anything to do with me, but it did feel bizarre.
‘Also the main hosts stepped down the following week. Again, I’m not saying it has anything to do with me. It’s just all very coincidental. I’m just being honest. I didn’t want any of this in the press either.
‘A lot of what’s been written has been exaggerated or untrue about me and I’ve found it hard to take in over the past few months. This is my life, and it’s not nice what has been said about me if I’m honest.
‘What I do find strange is that after a private Zoom call with BBC executives on Wednesday night about going forward, this was national news by Thursday morning.
‘That tells me there’s been a leak. Because it ain’t come from me to be in the press. (It might be from the same person who sent me the email) …..I didn’t want this to be national news, in fact I didn’t want any of this.
‘But now I’m writing a statement so people know the truth as to why I’m not attending, I don’t want people thinking I am bitter when I ain’t.
‘I don’t want more stories being wrote that ain’t true. I’m not kicking off for attention. I’m not saying I should’ve won either. I was rubbish at dancing we all know that.
‘But love me or hate me you do have to appreciate the massive following I have, I can’t even walk into the local Tesco without getting stopped for selfies.
‘I just believe in fairness and respect. I wish every dancer tonight the very best. They’ve worked their socks off and they deserve their moment. As for me I’ve got fish to sell on my stall and a family I love more than anything. Thank you for the love as Always. Bosh.’
The Daily Mail have contacted BBC representatives for comment.
Sources revealed on Thursday that Thomas is taking legal action against the BBC after claiming bosses ‘rigged’ the public vote to boot him off the show.
Thomas and pro partner Amy Dowden, 35, scored a dismal 29 out of 80 over two shows and landed in the bottom two with former rugby player Chris Robshaw, who was eventually saved by the judges.
A source said: ‘The BBC is already facing a £7.5billion lawsuit from Donald Trump – now Thomas, a friend of Vice President JD Vance, is taking them on too’.
The president filed a $10billion lawsuit against the corporation after the embattled corporation was found to have doctored his speech in a Panorama episode.
They went on to tell The Sun: ‘Thomas is adamant he got a larger share of the public vote and believes he has the evidence to prove it. He is determined to see it through, but there’s no way the BBC will take this sensational claim lying down. They’ll robustly defend any kinds of claims that the voting was rigged or fixed’.
‘He’s convinced the BBC was hell-bent on getting him out as soon as possible, no matter how many of his fans got behind him’.
The Daily Mail have contacted Thomas’s representatives for comment.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is robust and independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy’.
In October Thomas said he wished he ‘never went on Strictly Come Dancing’, as he has received ‘constant abuse’ following the revelation that he cheated on his wife.
