Kristina Rihanoff thinks it was a "mistake" for ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ bosses to script Sir Bruce Forsyth’s jokes.
The 88-year-old television presenter hosted the BBC Latin and ballroom dance competition from 2004 to 2013 and Kristina – who was a professional dancer on the show from 2008 to 2015 – believes that despite being a household name for his presenting duties, Bruce would have been even better if the bosses had let him present without a script.
She told The Sun newspaper: "Bruce is best when he’s not scripted.
"His wife invited me to his stand up once he had left the show and he was incredible.
"Two hours, one man show – he was outstanding and you never got to see that on Strictly because he was scripted. That was a mistake.
"He is the best when he’s telling jokes without being told what to say."
And it isn’t the only time the 39-year-old dancer has hit out at televised dance competitions this week, as she recently took a swipe at ITV’s ‘Dance Dance Dance’ for lacking "flavour".
Kristina also slammed the judges on the show – choreographer Tina Landon, dancer Timor Steffens, and Diversity creator Ashley Banjo – as she claims no-one knows "who they are".
The blonde beauty said: "The show doesn’t have any flavour to it. It is copying someone else’s famous craft.
"Putting American judges on the team to me as well, they might be amazing choreographers but we don’t know who they are. There a lot of things they could have done better."
Elsewhere, Kristina claimed the show – which tasks celebrities with recreating famous dances – wasn’t "exciting" and lacked the longevity of a show like ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
She said: "I watched one episode of ‘Dance Dance Dance’ and that was it. I didn’t understand it.
"You actually want to see something exciting. That’s why ‘Strictly…’ has longevity, you watch and you want your favourite one to get through to the next week."
Kristina Rihanoff: It was a ‘mistake’ to script Sir Bruce Forsyth on Strictly Come Dancing
