Strictly Come Dancing made its highly anticipated return to screens on Saturday with its pre-recorded launch show, which revealed which professional partners its 15 celebrity contestants had been paired with. Alongside a glittering group performance, the episode also introduced BBC viewers to two new professionals. American dancer Alexis Warr and Australian dancer Julian Caillon were warmly welcomed by their fellow dancers and will be dancing with YouTuber George Clarke and actress Balvinder Sopal, respectively. Among the pros that were making their dancefloor return this year were also a number of those who had been snubbed by the show.

This includes Neil Jones, Nancy Xu and Michelle Tsiakkas, who have all broken their silence about not appearing on the show this year. Nancy, 34, is said to be “incensed” with bosses after they decided she would not receive a celebrity pairing. The dancer, who joined the show in 2019, is reportedly fearful that, despite her previously successful partnerships, there may be “deeper issues” that she is not aware of behind the decision.

According to a source via the MailOnline, Nancy “is absolutely incensed by it all and has said she can’t work out what she’s done to make producers snub her – especially because she did so well with Shayne Ward last year.

“Nancy absolutely loves Strictly and gives it her all. So to be left out in the cold again for this series has been really jarring for her,” the insider said.

Fans will recall that the Chinese native won the 2023 Christmas special with EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick, but during last year’s main show, he was paired with pro Michelle.

Then, last year, Nancy competed with soap star Shayne Ward, 40, before the pair were eliminated in week eight.

Elsewhere, Neil took to Instagram to joke about being snubbed with a video that saw him throw a pen and claimed he would get to star on the show if it landed into a cup.

However, in a hilarious twist, the 43-year-old, who limbered up to take his aim at the cup, instead threw the pen off to the side of the studio.

Taking to the caption, Neil penned: “It’s all jokes and giggle and no matter with or without a partner I just love being part of @bbcstrictly so thank you for all your love.”

Meanwhile, Michelle admitted that she is “gutted” about being overlooked this year.

She wrote: “I just wanted to make this post to acknowledge and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the lovely messages I’ve received since you’ve all seen that I don’t have a partner on Strictly this year. To those of you asking how I am. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gutted, but I think that’s a normal feeling to have.”

Despite this, Michelle still intends to share her thoughts on Strictly, and other areas of her life, with her social media followers. The dancer explained: “Last year was my first year with a partner and it made me realise just how much I enjoy the process.

“I think it’s the most beautiful and rewarding part of the show. And I also feel like last year was the first time you all started to get to know me better as well.

“There is still a whole lot more of me yet to discover, so I will do my best this year to post more on here to make up for not seeing me as much on your screens.”