Just hours after the Strictly Come Dancing launch show The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner has gone on the defensive after BBC Look North star Peter Levy expressed his disdain that popular Welsh dancer Amy Dowden had been teamed with the reality star and businessman. Taking to X the news man simply wrote: “I feel sorry for Amy Dowden……”

However, Thomas took umbrage at the post and responded, urging the newsreader to “stick to the autocue.” He furiously penned: “Don’t feel sorry for Amy, Peter. She is an incredible woman, a fighter, and we’re gonna have a great time together on Strictly. In fact, we haven’t stopped laughing. Maybe instead of making daft digs at me, you should be cheering on a brilliant dancer who’s beaten bigger battles that you and I have had to face. Anyway, you stick to reading the autocue, I’ll stick to learning the cha-cha. I will be working my hardest on learning to dance so I don’t let her down. I want to do as well as possible, not just for myself but for her as well.”

Rather than fire back an irate reponse Peter graciously replied: “Hello Thomas, I am sure you are going to do a great job and will be a top partner. I wish you both well in the competition. I’ll stick with the autocue.”

Thomas was thrilled to learn he will be dancing with Amy. The reality star and businessman is currently mired in controversy following revelations of an affair. 

The 34-year-old dad of three put the furore to one side to greet his pro partner saying: “I’m over the moon. Honestly, Amy is a legend, just inspirational.”

However, he managed to visibly disgust her as he described his ideal pre-rehearsal breakfast on the launch show and invited her to join him.

He told Amy: “The best breakfast – we go down to Beano’s caff nice and early before we get started, get you spicy Korean noodles with the chicken breasts and the poached eggs, a little bit of Tabasco sauce.

“Or you don’t fancy that we can have the sunshine chicken curry with a round of chips,” he enthused.

However Amy looked far from amused and her reaction was spotted by Claudia who pointed it out. This led Amy to issue a warning to Thomas as she said: “I really hope your food doesn’t repeat whilst you dance. Because we’re so close,” she said putting her face next to his to demonstrate her point.

Amy, 35, only returned to Strictly last year having been forced to sit out 2023 as she battled breast cancer. She was paired with JLS star JB Gill, but her time on the show was cut short after she suffered foot injury in October 2024. She was forced to withdraw from the competition and Lauren Oakley stepped in to partner JB.