Charlotte Hawkins felt "weird" watching the start of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ this year without Brendan Cole on the team.
The 43-year-old television presenter took part in the BBC Latin and ballroom dance competition last year alongside profession partner Brendan, and has said that whilst all of last year’s contestants felt a "twinge" of sadness seeing their dance partners get paired with new stars during the show’s launch over the weekend, she felt "doubly-weird" because Brendan was missing from the group after having been axed from the program.
She said: "I was out and I was looking on Twitter and everyone was talking about how good it looked. And then we’ve got our WhatsApp group from last year and everyone was saying, ‘Oh, look who my partner’s got and look how happy they look.’ So I think everyone’s that twinge that they’re missing out.
"It’s doubly-weird for me because Brendan wasn’t there. But for me it didn’t feel the same not having him there."
Brendan, 42, was revealed to have been cut from the cast of the show earlier this year, and Charlotte believes it’s a "real shame" he’ll no longer be strutting his stuff on the dance floor.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, she said: "He was the one who added spark and he was the one who wasn’t afraid to speak out and he would speak out in my defence when he felt something deserved it.
"I think it’s a real shame and a lot of people have reached out to me and said the same. But it was an amazing show and all the dancers did a phenomenal job."
This year, Brendan has been replaced by Graziano Di Prima, who has been paired with Capital FM DJ Vick Hope.
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ returns to BBC One on September 22.
Charlotte Hawkins: Strictly Come Dancing feels ‘weird’ without Brendan Cole
