Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Thomas Skinner has claimed the BBC rigged the vote that saw him leave the show.
The social media personality alleged in an online post that on the night she left the competition she was sent an “anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC executive with statistics” showing she had “received many more votes than she let on.”
He went on to say that the email also claimed that the BBC was “angry” and “nervous” about its meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.
It follows reports that Skinner is suing the BBC over allegations the vote was rigged against him. A BBC spokesperson rejected the allegation and said Strictly’s public voting was “independently monitored and verified to ensure complete accuracy”.
And they added: “Any statement to the contrary is completely unfounded.”
PromoVeritas, the company that verifies the show’s public vote, said all votes it receives are “validated” and “independently and exhaustively verified by two auditors.”
It is understood the BBC is not aware of any legal complaints over the matter.
Skinner was the first celebrity contestant to be eliminated on this year’s series.
Before Saturday’s final, in which former contestants will return, he announced that he would not attend.
“I spoke to my lovely dance partner, Amy Dowden, to make sure she was okay with me not attending,” she wrote in a lengthy post on X, explaining that her post was “so people know the truth” about her absence.
“I don’t want people to think I’m bitter when I’m not.”
Skinner claimed he had the authenticity of a BBC executive’s alleged email “independently verified”, although it is unclear how he did so.
He said he had asked to see the official voting tallies “to back up the ones they emailed me, but they told me they couldn’t show them to you” and that they had “never been shown in the history of the show.”
He added that there were “smaller things” that added to the feeling of “how unfair it all was”, such as that his welcome gift to the show was the only one that was “apparently stolen”.
The BBC spokesperson said Skinner had not yet shared the email with anyone at the broadcaster “despite him requesting it”, so they were unable to comment.
They added that the Strictly team “categorically did not provide ‘welcome gifts’ to any of the cast members.”
Skinner first hit TV screens on The Apprentice in 2019 and has since appeared on shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Good Morning Britain and Celebrity Masterchef. He will also appear on Celebrity Apprentice this Christmas.
He is also known for his social media videos that encourage people to think positively, usually ending with a characteristic “nonsense.”
But he has attracted criticism in recent months for meeting with Donald Trump’s vice president over the summer and being photographed wearing a Make America Great Again cap.
Skinner emphasized in his post that he was “not a political guy,” adding, “I just love my country and I’m patriotic.”
He said he had a “private” Zoom call with BBC executives on Wednesday about “the future” which had leaked and was “national news” the next morning.
