Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole fears Karen Clifton is being used as a ‘scapegoat’ after Will Young exit

The professional dancer praised Clifton as a "phenomenal teacher"
'Scapegoat': Will Young dancing his last dance with Karen Clifton
BBC/Guy Levy
Emma Powell18 October 2016

Brendan Cole said he fears Karen Clifton is being used as a ‘scapegoat’ after Will Young quit Strictly Come Dancing.

Young pulled out of the competition last Tuesday citing “personal reasons”, but there were reports that Clifton had pushed him too hard during training.

Cole – who is paired with Anastacia – blasted the claims and said Clifton is a “phenomenal teacher” who is “extremely easy-going”.

Writing in his Digital Spy column he said: “It's never a nice situation when someone leaves the competition. I don't know what Will's personal circumstances are – all I've heard is that due to personal reasons he's left the show.

Speaking out: Will Young and Karen Clifton
BBC/Guy Levy

"And that's really sad because you don't want to see somebody having to go through the show and then be dealing with something on a personal level that we don't know about.”

He continued: “But again what really disappoints me is that the media will use Karen as the scapegoat and say he was being pushed too hard by her.

Partners: Anastacia and Brendan Cole dancing the rumba
BBC/Guy Levy

“Karen's such a phenomenal teacher and she's extremely easy-going and I think they got along fantastically. Certainly on set they were hanging out all the time, they were laughing and joking.

“Obviously I want to make sure Karen's looked after because she's one of the good ones, in terms of the pros. I really love what she does and how she behaves.”

Clifton tweeted her disappointment at Young's decision to leave and said that the decision was not one he made lightly.

"I'm so sad that Will has decided to quit the show and I know it wasn't an easy decision for him," she tweeted.

"It was great dancing with him, he was such fun to work with and I wish him all the very best for the future."

There were reports that Young quit after an altercation with Len Goodman, while other reports pointed to a battle with anxiety.

The Pop Idol winner opened up about his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder ahead of his debut on the show and told London Live that he was "desperately unhappy".

He said: "Then I got PTSD and got depersonalisation and derealisation which is when your body can’t cope with the flooding of emotions from the past.

“I couldn’t see my face in the mirror or recognise family."

Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday night at 6:30pm.

Strictly Come Dancing 2016

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