Yet another Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer has announced they will not be taking part in the BBC1 show when it returns in the autumn.
Irish dancer Tristan MacManus, who joined the celebrity dancing competition in 2014, has confirmed he will not be taking part in the next series which is due to begin in the autumn.
In his two years on the show, Tristan was the professional partner of Mrs Brown's Boys star Jennifer Gibney and singer-turned-Loose Women panelist Jamelia, and his departure follows the news that his fellow dancing pros Aliona Vilani, Ola Jordan and Kristina Rihanoff will not be returning to Strictly this year either.
Jamelia and Tristan MacManus (BBC Pictures)
But he told fan site MacManiacs.org – a webside dedicated to all things Tristan – that Strictly is “not for him”.
The dancer explained: “No, I won’t be going back. I think over the time I have been there I have realised more and more that it is not for me.
“I think the show needs someone a lot different to me on the show to get what they want, and I need something a lot different to make me happy and get what I want out of it.
Strictly Come Dancing’s Jamelia and Tristan MacManus (Guy Levy/BBC)
“I think there will be a lot of changes on the show, and I have enjoyed it for the most part but right now I just need a break from it all.”
Tristan, 33, joined Strictly from the US programme Dancing With The Stars, where he partnered celebrities including Gladys Knight and Pamela Anderson.
He told the fan site: “This kind of goes hand in hand with the other question, in that you can do whatever it is you want to do but when you have to start doing things you don’t, then you have to decide if it’s for you or not.
Tristan MacManus (Guy Levy/BBC)
“You can be a dancer or you can be a dancer on a TV show and with that comes a whole other bag. It can be fun, but I’d sooner leave it as it is then spend all my time complaining about it.”
In response to Tristan's announcement, Kristina Rihanoff wrote:
@TristanMacManus will miss you buddy. All the very best to you and your beautiful wife with the baby xxx
— Kristina Rihanoff (@KRihanoff) March 7, 2016
Brendan Cole, another dancer on the show, tweeted: “That’s a shame as @TristanMacManus is one of the good ones. I have some replacement ideas for you @bbcstrictly!”
Jennifer Gibney and Tristan MacManus (Guy Levy/BBC)
James Jordan, who has become an outspoken critic of the show since quitting the professional line-up, added: “Well said @TristanMacManus.”
A Strictly Come Dancing spokesman did not comment on Tristan’s apparent decision, but told Digital Spy: “The new series is still six months away and the 2016 professional dancers line-up will be announced in due course.”
