EXCLUSIVE: Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Brendan Cole won the first series of the BBC show in 2004 with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, but sadly his trophy didn’t survive
Brendan Cole admits his Strictly trophy has met a tragic fate. The former Strictly pro has been keeping it real with his hot takes on this year’s series. He recently told Daily Star that the judges have become softer with their scoring and that they were more strict (pardon the pun) when he was a pro.
Brendan won the first ever series of the show back in 2004, when he was partnered with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky. But the dancer has admitted the trophy that he took home ended up completely broken.
He told Sky Vegas and Daily Star: “My Glitterball trophy lived in a garage for many years. It was shipped from house to house and eventually it ended up in about 16 pieces.
“That sounds like I didn’t care about it, I did, it was quite plasticky and so sadly it’s sitting nicely in a waste site somewhere.”
Brendan, who was on Strictly for 15 years, said the show changed him “dramatically”. Though he’s “embarrassed” by some of his behaviour back in the day, Strictly taught him how to be a TV star – and he learned from none other than late host Sir Bruce Forsyth.
“Being on Strictly Come Dancing changed me dramatically from year one to year 15,” he said. “I started out hot-headed, wanting to prove myself, and I learned how to be on television on the job – mainly through mistakes. I look back at some of my behaviour, and I’m embarrassed by the ridiculousness of it.
“But I learned how to be an entertainer, how to be good on TV, and I learned from Sir Bruce Forsyth every single day. He was the master. I learned from my peers too. I could write chapters on it, but in short – Strictly shaped me.”
Strictly fans know all too well just how vast the Strictly wardrobe is, and Brendan has revealed he loved the tail suit the most. He explained: “As a man, I love the tail suit.
“I love the beauty of the ballroom numbers, and that’s missing on Strictly these days. They probably have three or four tail suits a series, and they should have about 20. Those beautiful ballroom numbers deserve to look the part.”
And if you’re wondering which celebrity he’d like to see on the dancefloor, it seems Brendan has someone in mind. “I don’t have a specific person, but someone like Ricky Gervais – he’s never going to do it, but that level of name.”
Away from Strictly, Brendan has appeared as a judge on Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand’s version of Strictly). In 2022, he reached the final of Dancing on Ice and came second.
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here.
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
#Strictly #pro #reveals #tragic #Glitterball #trophy #ended #broken #pieces
