Fiona Phillips says Strictly's Brendan Cole 'wasn’t very nice' and his exit from the show was 'karma'

Former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips has suggested Brendan Cole “wasn’t very nice” and his exit from Strictly Come Dancing was “karma”.

Fiona and Brendan were partnered on the BBC dancing programme in 2005 and the 59-year-old broadcaster has now revealed her true thoughts on the professional dancer.

“Brendan was a real bugger, actually,” she told Daily Star.

“He wasn't very nice. He was really naughty.”

She added: “He's not on the show now. Karma indeed. It works its way every time.”

Brendan left the show in 2018 in a shock exit in which he hinted it was not his decision.

“It's quite, actually, hard to talk about. The BBC haven't renewed my contract,” he said at the time.

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“We get contracted year upon year. They've made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I'm a little bit in shock.

“I'm quite emotional, a bit raw about it.”

The 43-year-old was on the show for 15 years, and was the first Glitterball Trophy winner with celebrity partner Natasha Kaplinksy.

He danced with Fiona on the third series and they were eliminated in the fourth week.

Brendan later spoke of the decision not to renew his contract on Lorraine and admitted he was “disappointed”.

“I have had 15 incredible series on the show. I'm very proud of the whole show. It's a great team. I'm disappointed,” he shared.

“It's very hard to talk about. It's a recent decision. I've always known this day would come. To get to this point, the BBC make the decisions year upon year. It's an editorial decision. I'm sure I'll never know the ins and outs.

When Len Goodman left the show as head judge, Brendan was considered a front runner for the role but it went to Shirley Ballas.

“I'm a very strong character within the show, I have my strong views,” he added.

“I feel like I've made a massive difference to the show. Even though the show has a different team, I will always be one of the ones who was part of the journey who got it to where it is today. And to not be a part of that is hard.”