Amy Dowden ‘gutted’ that Thomas Skinner missed Strictly Come Dancing finale amid BBC repair row – as she reveals devastating bereavement she suffered days earlier than returning to ballroom

Amy Dowden admitted that she was ‘gutted’ that Thomas Skinner missed the Strictly Come Dancing finale on Saturday – as she opened up about the devastating bereavement she suffered days before returning to the ballroom on Monday’s Lorraine.

The professional dancer, 35, who was coupled up with The Apprentice star, 34, as part of this year’s series of the BBC show, appeared on the ITV show to chat to step-in host Christine Lampard, 46, about the current series which was won by Karen Carney.

Unfortunately Amy and her celebrity partner Thomas – who shot to fame on The Apprentice in 2019 – had a very short stint in the competition after becoming the first pair to be given the boot. 

Thomas pulled out of the BBC finale over the weekend, shortly after admitting that he wishes he ‘never went on Strictly’, and on Friday it was reported that he is ‘suing the Beeb for “rigging public vote” to eliminate him first’ following his affair scandal.

The star admitted to cheating on his wife Sinead with Amy-Lucy O’Rourke just weeks after their wedding in May 2022. 

Christine asked Amy: ‘We all know you were partners with Thomas Skinner, who is sadly in the papers today, suing the BBC, and everything else. Have you spoken to him recently?’

Amy said: ‘So the last time I spoke to him was on Thursday. He didn’t mention it. Sent me some messages.’

She then went on to explain that she recently lost someone that meant her ‘mind was elsewhere’. 

Amy continued: ‘I was really upset on Thursday and still am. I lost somebody who was like a second dad to me – my dance teacher.

‘He passed away on his wife’s birthday. Phillip Perry. 

‘I owe my entire dancing career and everything to him. He was more than a dance teacher to me and my twin and my family.

‘Do you know what, so my mind was elsewhere. 

‘To be honest, I was just gutted Thomas missed out on what was an incredibly fun, exciting final. 

‘I would have loved for him to be there.’ 

Amy returned to the dance show this year after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023.

The star underwent chemotherapy, and recently had a second mastectomy. 

This year’s series was won by Amy’s best pal professional Carlos Gu, 32, and former footballer Karen Carney. 

It comes after Amy’s former partner Thomas has reportedly parted ways with his agent as Strictly’s true voting figures were revealed. 

The Apprentice star had already been deemed a controversial signing on the flagship BBC show due to his outspoken Right-wing views, but the storm only grew when he confessed to cheating on his wife Sinead just weeks after they tied the knot.

Thomas, who has denied the claims, was reportedly informed by Insanity management, who also represent the likes of Sam Thompson, Roman Kemp and Vick Hope of their decision on Saturday. 

His legal threats against the BBC also seemingly lie in tatters after an independent poll showed the star received just 1.4% of the public vote, despite his claims he received an anonymous email of evidence proving otherwise. 

The exit poll of 125K viewers was conducted by website Strictly Spoiler and is completely separate from the BBC main vote. The poll showed ‘clear evidence of his unpopularity’ after he received just 1805 votes, the lowest of all the contestants. 

A source told The Mirror: ‘The poll – which is larger than an exit poll for a- comprehensively shows that Skinner was the least popular contestant by a long way. There is no conspiracy. These are the cold, hard facts’.

Daily Mail contacted Insanity and Thomas Skinner for comment.

Thomas and pro partner Amy Dowden 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 BBC spokesperson said: ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy every week. Any claims to the contrary are entirely without foundation. Unfortunately, despite requests for it, Mr Skinner is yet to share the email he references with anyone from the BBC so we are unable to comment on it’.

In addition, PromoVeritas – the company who independently verify the Strictly public vote – said: ‘All votes are independently and comprehensively verified by two auditors. We can confirm that all votes received are validated. This has been the case every week.’

It comes after a since deleted statement, as reported by The Mirror, by Thomas said he ‘really regretted’ appearing in this year’s Strictly.

The reality star said he was ‘not perfect’ and had ‘made mistakes’ but was convinced he was right about the votes being rigged.

While insisting the only positive experience of his stint was meeting pro partner Amy, he also claimed he was still on ‘good terms’ with the BBC. Despite his legal action and pulling out of Saturday’s final, which saw Lioness Karen Carney win.

Thomas said: ‘First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has followed my journey and supported me along the way. I genuinely appreciate it more than you’ll ever know’. 

‘I also want to be honest. I know what’s likely to come next. I expect people will call me a liar, they’ll try to cancel me, say I’m hated, or even claim I didn’t get any votes at all. At this point, I don’t care anymore. I know what’s right, and I know the conversations I’ve had’.

Thomas, who shares three children with his wife, continued: ‘I understand that much of what’s happened is my own fault. I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and I hold my hands up to that. I’m not perfect and I’ve never pretended to be. 

‘But what I can’t accept is my family being dragged into this. So I need to take a step back. I never wanted any of this to become public. If I’m being completely honest, I really regret doing Strictly Come Dancing’. 

He went on: ‘I wish I’d never done it. The only positive to come from it was making a new friend in Amy, who is a genuinely lovely person. Aside from that, it’s brought a huge amount of negative attention, and it has affected me more than I’d like to admit.’

‘It was on good terms. I want to be clear: I don’t hate the BBC. They gave me my big break when I appeared on The Apprentice six or seven years ago, and I’m grateful for that. I’m not looking for conflict. I just want to get on with my life.

Before adding: ‘Tomorrow I’ll be back at work, focusing on my family, my children, and my beautiful wife. I’m lucky I have work every day an I’m focusing on that. The amount I’ve been attacked this year really isn’t right.’

Daily Mail have contacted Thomas’ representatives for further comment. 

A source told  The Sun: ‘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.  

‘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’.