Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kristina Rihanoff has revealed her surprising choice to take Darcey Bussell’s job on Strictly. Appearing on Good Morning Britain just six days after it was announced that the former ballerina would be stepping down from her role on the judging panel, Kristina voiced her opinion - and we’re very surprised with her choice!
Speaking to Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, the 41-year-old explained that Nicole Scherzinger would be the perfect fit for the role: "she is a beautiful stunning lady who has training in street and commercial dancing. She would be a good judge.” The professional ballroom dancer added that: "The panel needs another woman and someone from a different background to ballroom dancing, someone from street dancing or a commercial dancing background, who is also a professional dancer and perhaps a judge."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe professional dancer left the show in 2016
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The mother-of-one, who left the hit BBC dance show in 2016, also proposed that the new addition to the judging panel could be an unfamiliar face, as the "show makes everybody a household name."
Kristina went on to argue that La La Land choreographer Mandy Moore could therefore be a possible candidate: "We all loved the La La Land movie and the wonderful Mandy Moore, who was choreographer for that movie, and she is a judge on So You Think You Can Dance in America. She is in America and she choreographed a lot of wonderful numbers on Strictly with us pros. We all loved her. She would be great."
Kristina, who dated Strictly partner Joe Calazaghe and now has a daughter with Ben Cohen also opened up about the Strictly Curse. The infamous curse has recently caused controversy for Stacey Dooley who split from her boyfriend of five years Sam Tucknott following her time on the show. Sam has recently spoken out about his heartbreak in a series of interviews, claiming that the journalist had become extremely close to her dance partner Kevin Clifton.
© Photo: Getty ImagesShe has one child with Ben Cohen, who she was partnered with in 2013
Speaking about the curse, Kristina explained: "That’s what’s difficult about this because there is always going to be someone hurt or someone feeling it’s wrong what’s happening, but people do meet at work and that’s where we work. I think it’s about creating a very strong bond and trusting one another. The show is very intense… emotionally and physically.” She added: "At the end of the day you have a very big task in front of you and lots of pressure on your shoulders… people have to trust one another, and I think that’s where it all starts."
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It was announced last week that Darcey Bussell would leave Strictly Come Dancing, where she appeared on the judging panel for seven years. In an Instagram post following the announcement the dancer explained: "I am not leaving because of any upset or disagreement at all, I am just stepping away to give more focus to my many other commitments in dance."
