‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has been caught up in a race row after contestant Danny John-Jules accused the judges of making racist decisions.
Old tweets from the ‘Red Dwarf’ actor have been unearthed by The Sun, which show him hitting out at the BBC show for its perceived unfairness to contestants of colour.
In 2016, he fumed: "They always get rid of the black guy first."
He replied to a fan who asked if reality programmes show black contestants as unstable by saying: "It’s like Strictly. The brothers are always ‘two left footed’ with a big grin."
And last year, after JLS star Aston Merrygold lost out to The Saturdays singer Mollie King in a dance-off, he tweeted: "B******t of the week. Strictly bosses pretending to be horrified at Craig Rev Hor sticking to their MO and voting off the brother in the afro."
Danny, 57, also hit out at judges Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli, calling them "Craig Swivel Horwood" and "Bruno Phonyonly".
He later added: "Boy would there be trouble if aliens scanned for ‘Ability Blaggers’ and removed them. Have you ever seen Bruno or Craig Dance?"
While the BBC refused to comment on Danny’s "personal tweets", an insider insisted the show is not racist, saying: "Every single year since it started bar three (2008, 2010 and 2015), a black or mixed-race person has either won or come second in ‘Strictly’. About as far from racist as you can get."
Earlier this month, Danny was the third contestant announced for this year’s show and expressed his delight in a statement.
He said: "Having spent the last few months on two wheels motorcycling around South America in pink leathers, I’m absolutely delighted to be getting back on two feet and into something more comfortable like glittery spandex."
Danny John-Jules accused Strictly judges of making racist decsions
