Thomas Skinner disappears from agent’s website after Strictly fix claim

Skinner, who was first contestant to be booted off BBC series this year, believes voting figures were rigged

Thomas Skinner has seemingly been dropped by his agents after he boldly claimed the BBC rigged Strictly Come Dancing’s voting figures to send him home early.

The former Apprentice star became the first celebrity to be eliminated from the 2025 series, but Skinner said on Saturday (20 December) he is seeking “legal advice” after being sent an email suggesting he should not have been in the bottom two. He didn’t attend the final, which aired hours later.

Skinner’s claims have been refuted by the BBC, with the broadcaster stating that the votes are independently verified by a specialist team separate from the show – and now, days later, Skinner has vanished from his talent representatives’ website.

The Independent can confirm that last week, when reports first broke that Skinner was seeking legal advice against the BBC, he was still listed as a client on Insanity PR’s website.

However, since he shared a lengthy statement claiming Strictly was fixed against him, all mention of Skinner has been removed. The Independent has contacted Insanity for comment.

Skinner’s post read: “On the night I left the show, I received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right. I’ve since had the email independently verified.

Thomas Skinner has claimed ‘Strictly’ was fixed to get him oir early (BBC)

He went on to explain that he has asked the BBC for evidence the votes were not rigged.

“I have asked to see the official voting figures to back up the ones I was sent in the email but was told they couldn’t be shown to me and have never been shown in the history of the show,” he wrote. “I have spoken about the email I had received to senior people and the BBC welfare team, who btw I genuinely respect. And they was the ones who advised me to get legal advice because of how unfair it all was. (This was not my idea)."

When the Strictly lineup was first unveiled, Skinner was singled out as a controversial casting thanks to his friendship with US vice president JD Vance, along with social media posts in which he had argued it is “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complained “it ain’t safe out there any more” in London, saying the city is “hostile” and “tense”.

Skinner, who shot to fame as a contestant on The Apprentice in 2019, said he believes he has “been made out to be someone I actually am not simply because I took part in this show”, adding: “The views were formed from media stories over the summer that simply wasn’t true or exaggerated. It ain’t fair what has happened to me and my family.”

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Thomas Skinner is no longer listed on the insanity PR website days after being listed (Insanity PR)

He added that he is “not kicking off for attention” and knows he was “rubbish at dancing”, but wrote: “Love me or hate me you do have to appreciate the massive following I have, I can’t even walk into the local Tesco without getting stopped for selfies. I just believe in fairness and respect.”

Skinner’s lengthy post arrived on the morning of the 2025 live final, which saw Karen Carney beat George Clarke and Amber Davies to the Glitterball trophy.

It was also the last ever live episode with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as its hosts, after the duo shocked the entertainment world earlier this autumn with the news they were exiting the show.

Despite Skinner’s claims about Strictly, he is back on the BBC in Celebrity Apprentice on 29 and 30 December, and was present at the BBC’s press launch for the show last month.