Thomas Skinner's future on Strictly uncertain after 'storming' out of launch event

Thomas Skinner's future as a contestant on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing 2025, has been left uncertain after he abruptly walked out of a press event ahead of the show's launch.

The latest series of the show is due to start on September 20, and the celebrities taking part are currently in the process of speaking to the nation's press ahead of appearing on the series.

However, while being interviewed by journalists alongside fellow 2025 contestant Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank, Thomas left the Elstree Studio press event under mysterious circumstances.

There has been no official reason given relating to why Thomas left the studio, although unverified reports by the Mirror claim it was because he was angry over being recorded on a mobile phone during the conversations.

The former Apprentice candidate was already a controversial addition to the Strictly line-up, coming under fire for his divisive political views.

He's previously shared posts to social media of himself meeting US Vice President JD Vance this summer, and in another picture, he can be seen wearing a cap emblazoned with Make America Great Again.

BBC director-general Tim Davie had already defended the decision to have Thomas as a Strictly contestant in the run-up to his appearance.

Due to his perceived political affiliations, Davie was called to speak about Thomas' appearance on the show with MPs from the Culture, Media and Sport committee.

According to The Independent, Davie said, “That was not my decision, that was the production team looking for those people… who want to do Strictly, and those people they thought would be interesting to the audience."

Thomas himself is yet to address what happened at the press event. In a post shared to X (formerly Twitter) on September 8, he spoke about his sheer excitement of appearing on the show.

"Today was my first day dancing with my STRICTLY PARTNER!" He wrote, adding, "Honestly enjoyed it so much more than I thought and me and my partner did not stop laughing all day!"

"It is such a good experience and I’m fully surrendering to Strictly."