Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan left This Morning hosts Emma Willis and Joel Dommett squirming when he commented on the alleged drug scandal currently facing the ballroom show.
Jordan appeared on the ITV programme on Monday (4 August) alongside former Strictly pros Brendan Cole, Pasha Kovalev and Ian Waite to promote their forthcoming live tour, The Return of the Legends, when Dommett asked the group for their thoughts on the recent reports that the BBC is investigating two unnamed stars for alleged cocaine use.
Dommett added that the show had “changed a lot” in recent years, asking them: “Do you think it can survive another scandal?”
Jordan, who danced on the programme from 2006 to 2013, said he thought Strictly would outlive further controversy because it is a “juggernaut” of British entertainment.
He then quipped: “What you say about the show having changed is true, because, back in our day, long, long time ago, we only got Diet Coke, didn’t we?”
His dancing colleagues laughed with a hint of embarrassment while hosts Willis and Dommett remained silent. Cole, noting the awkwardness, chimed in: “Moving the show along…”
This inspired Willis to change the subject as she asked: “So you start touring, when?”
Cole, poking fun at Jordan’s misfired quip, replied: “5 September – not sure if James is going to be there.”
The comment has had a mixed reaction from viewers, with one person on X/Twitter calling Jordan a “legend”, while another said: “Not sure James Jordan making a joke about ‘coke’ is funny when it’s actually a really serious situation.”
According to a report published by The Sun on Saturday (2 August), the BBC has hired an external law firm to investigate two Strictly stars for alleged drug use during their time on the show.
“We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us,” a BBC spokesperson told The Independent.
“We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
Commenting on the news further, Cole – who won the first edition of Strictly in 2004 and stayed on the programme until 2017 – said he hoped the BBC would deal with the situation “in the correct way and look after the people on the show”.
He added: “We hold Strictly very dear to our hearts. It’s the reason why we’re on this sofa today. There will always be controversy with Strictly because there are too many people involved in it.”
“It’s one of those things – you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes,” he continued. “It’s not for us to know, because we’re not on the show anymore.”
Elsewhere in the interview, James added: “We do have lots of friends on the show and it’s very difficult for us to comment when we don’t really know what is true and what isn’t, it’s all just hearsay at the moment.”
The news comes at a difficult time for the programme, which has been hit with repeated controversies over recent years.
In 2024, pro dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima were dropped from the programme after they separately faced allegations of misconduct over the treatment of their celebrity partners. Pernice denied allegations of “threatening and abusive behaviour” while Di Prima said he “deeply regrets” the events that led to his departure.
Last week, Strictly announced two brand-new professional dancers for its 2025 series: Alexis Warr, former winner of the US series So You Think You Can Dance in 2022, and Julian Caillon, a ballroom TV star from Australia.
