Another Strictly Come Dancing season has come to an end, but one notable face was missing from the grand finale.
And it appears his pro partner has now snubbed him as well.
Tonight, finalists Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Karen Carney and Carlos Gu took to the floor one last time in a bid for the Glitter Ball trophy.
After securing the most public votes and in tearful scenes, it was Lioness Karen who lifted the trophy, making history as she became the first-ever footballer to do so.
Elsewhere tonight, we had the moment Strictly fans look forward to each year, with all of the series’ contestants returning for a group number to celebrate their best bits.
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However, it didn’t go unnoticed that The Apprentice star Thomas Skinner was absent.
Earlier this week, the BBC confirmed that the businessman would not appear in the final due to a ‘prior commitment’.
It was later reported, though, that Skinner was taking legal action against the broadcaster, believing he was wrongly eliminated in week 2 after failing to secure enough votes to keep him out of the bottom two.
Skinner himself commented on the matter hours before tonight’s final, alleging he had email evidence of the outcome being ‘unfair’.
In a further statement issued to Metro, the BBC said simply: ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is robust and independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy.’
And in the latest development after the 2025 series came to a close, it seems even Skinner’s professional partner is keen to move on.
Skinner was partnered with Amy Dowden this year, with fans devastated as she was booted out so early on.
Taking to Instagram after Karen and Carlos’s victory, the Welsh choreographer shared a series of snaps with the new champs, declaring the final three ‘incredible’.
‘To my darling brother im so proud of you @gkx_carlos . I know how much you’ve loved this series, you’ve learnt, grown and shown your true authentic self! You wanted this for @kazcarney’, Dowden’s caption read.
‘Kaz you shone, thank you for being you, beautiful dancing but a wonderful soul! So happy for you both! Our new 2025 champions.
‘Last year Carlos and I would sit and get quite emotional many nights and I use to tell him 2025 sounds like a good year and I was right, what a year [sic]’.
Dowden, who joined the show in 2017, failed to make any mention of Skinner. Her only nod to her own stint on the programme this year was her end comment: ‘@bbcstrictly thank you for another incredible series and for supporting me through and through xxxxx love you all deeply xxxx’.
Fans were keen to send their support to Dowden in the comments, with @deb_m_66 writing: ‘So sad you weren’t able to dance with a partner in the finale. You deserve better.’
While she performed again in the group routine, it was, of course, without Skinner.
Nevertheless, he has continued singing her praises since leaving the show, even shouting Dowden out in his statement about wanting to sue the BBC.
‘First thing I wanna say is this…I spoke with my lovely dance partner, Amy Dowden to make sure she was okay with me not attending,’ he wrote on X ahead of the final. ‘She’s a good person and a good friend now, I’d never let her down.’
Skinner went on to say he was initially ‘buzzing’ to take part in Strictly, but he has since asked to see evidence of official voting figures after he ‘received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying [he’d] received far more votes than it appeared, and it wasn’t right.’
While Skinner claims his email was ‘verified’, in a statement to Metro, the BBC called his allegations about the voting ‘entirely without foundation’.
There’s no denying this Strictly season has been filled with highs and lows, from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman emotionally announcing their departure to several withdrawals due to contestant injuries.
Skinner’s time on the show alone was overshadowed by backlash from the start.
Initially, fans criticised his signing due to his association with right-wing figures like US Vice President JD Vance.
He also ended up in the centre of a press storm out and a cheating scandal in the lead-up to his tenure on the dancefloor.
Some viewers were left especially unimpressed with his dancing skills, with one Reddit user, Thick_Ad_8885, saying he appeared to be one of the ‘worst contestants on this show’ and didn’t seem to ‘really care about’ it.
After his short and turbulent time on the show came to an end, Skinner called out his critics in a lengthy X post and shared his regrets at ever joining the series.
‘I wish I never done Strictly, I never fitted [sic] the bill for that show let’s be honest. And it’s caused me nothing but agg. Constant abuse,’ he wrote at the time.
He will be back on reality TV, however, over the Christmas period, as part of the Celebrity Apprentice lineup. He first featured on the Lord Sugar reality show in 2019, where he finished in ninth place.
In the first episode of the star-studded special, he can be seen becoming visibly emotional as he returns to where his TV career began.
On the show, he said: ‘I don’t get upset, really; it’s just I done this show six years ago, and this show changed my life. I’m back here.’
A version of this article was first published on December 18.
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