Thomas Skinner says he ‘really regrets doing Strictly’ but insist he’s still on ‘good terms’ with the BBC… despite ‘seeking legal action’ over claims bosses ‘rigged’ his exit and pulling out of the show’s finale

Thomas Skinner says he ‘really regrets’ appearing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing as he ‘seeks legal action’ over claims bosses rigged the vote to axe him first.

The Apprentice star, 34, had already been deemed a controversial signing due to his outspoken Right-wing views, but the storm only grew when he confessed to cheating on his wife Sinead just weeks after they tied the knot.

Now in a since deleted statement, as reported by The Mirror, Thomas said he was ‘not perfect’ and had ‘made mistakes’ but was convinced he was right about the votes being rigged, after receiving an anonymous email of evidence. 

While insisting the only positive experience of his stint was meeting pro partner Amy Dowden, he also claimed he was still on ‘good terms’ with the BBC. Despite his legal action and pulling out of Saturday’s final, which saw Lioness Karen Carney win.

Thomas said: ‘First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has followed my journey and supported me along the way. I genuinely appreciate it more than you’ll ever know’. 

‘I also want to be honest. I know what’s likely to come next. I expect people will call me a liar, they’ll try to cancel me, say I’m hated, or even claim I didn’t get any votes at all. At this point, I don’t care anymore. I know what’s right, and I know the conversations I’ve had’.

Thomas, who shares three children with his wife, continued: ‘I understand that much of what’s happened is my own fault. I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and I hold my hands up to that. I’m not perfect and I’ve never pretended to be. 

‘But what I can’t accept is my family being dragged into this. So I need to take a step back. I never wanted any of this to become public. If I’m being completely honest, I really regret doing Strictly Come Dancing’. 

He went on: ‘I wish I’d never done it. The only positive to come from it was making a new friend in Amy, who is a genuinely lovely person. Aside from that, it’s brought a huge amount of negative attention, and it has affected me more than I’d like to admit.’

‘It was on good terms. I want to be clear: I don’t hate the BBC. They gave me my big break when I appeared on The Apprentice six or seven years ago, and I’m grateful for that. I’m not looking for conflict. I just want to get on with my life.

Before adding: ‘Tomorrow I’ll be back at work, focusing on my family, my children, and my beautiful wife. I’m lucky I have work every day an I’m focusing on that. The amount I’ve been attacked this year really isn’t right.’

Daily Mail have contacted Thomas’ representatives for further comment. 

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy every week. Any claims to the contrary are entirely without foundation. Unfortunately, despite requests for it, Mr Skinner is yet to share the email he references with anyone from the BBC so we are unable to comment on it’.

In addition, PromoVeritas – the company who independently verify the Strictly public vote – said: ‘All votes are independently and comprehensively verified by two auditors. We can confirm that all votes received are validated. This has been the case every week.’

Thomas and pro partner Amy, 35, scored a dismal 29 out of 80 over two shows and landed in the bottom two with former rugby player Chris Robshaw, who was eventually saved by the judges. 

A source told  The Sun: ‘The BBC is already facing a £7.5billion lawsuit from Donald Trump – now Thomas, a friend of Vice President JD Vance, is taking them on too’.

The president filed a $10billion lawsuit against the corporation after the embattled corporation was found to have doctored his speech in a Panorama episode.  

‘Thomas is adamant he got a larger share of the public vote and believes he has the evidence to prove it.  He is determined to see it through, but there’s no way the BBC will take this sensational claim lying down. They’ll robustly defend any kinds of claims that the voting was rigged or fixed’.

‘He’s convinced the BBC was hell-bent on getting him out as soon as possible, no matter how many of his fans got behind him’. 

Ahead of Saturday’s live final Thomas broke his silence on his early following reports of him seeking legal advice.   

In a lengthy post to X, he wrote: ‘As most of you will have seen in the papers, I won’t be at the final of Strictly Come Dancing tonight.  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. 

‘She’s a good person and a good friend now, I’d never let her down. When I got given the opportunity to do Strictly back in April, I was buzzing.  Not because I can dance…. I can’t. But because I really wanted to test myself and Learn something completely out of my comfort zone.’

The TV personality continued: ‘On the night I left the show, I received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right. I’ve since had the email independently verified. 

‘That same email mentioned the BBC was very angry an nervous simply because I had met JD Vance (USA VICE PRESIDENT). Let me be clear, I’m not a political bloke. Never have been. I just love my country and am patriotic. 

‘I’ve been made out by the press to be this political figure. If anyone was to get an opportunity like what I did, they would have taken it.  I still think it is mad that a man like me who sells mattresses out of a van can call someone that senior in the world’s politics a friend now. 

‘I have asked to see the official voting figures to back up the ones I was sent in the email but was told they couldn’t be shown to me. And have never been shown in the history of the show. 

‘I have spoke about the email I had received to senior people and the BBC welfare team, who btw I genuinely respect. And they was the ones who advised me to get legal advice because of how unfair it all was. (This was not my idea).

‘There were also smaller things that added to the feeling. Everyone received a welcome gift on the show….. skincare bits, face masks, that sort of thing. Mine was the only one that “Got Stolen” apparently.’

He added: ‘On its own, it’s nothing…. but added to everything else, it felt strange. I have been made out to be someone I actually am not simply because I took part in this show. 

‘The views were formed from media stories over the summer that simply wasn’t true or exaggerated. It ain’t fair what has happened to me and my family. I also want to say this carefully.  After receiving this information and having it verified, a very senior BBC figure has since resigned. I’m not saying that had anything to do with me, but it did feel bizarre. 

‘Also the main hosts stepped down the following week. Again, I’m not saying it has anything to do with me. It’s just all very coincidental. I’m just being honest. I didn’t want any of this in the press either. 

‘A lot of what’s been written has been exaggerated or untrue about me and I’ve found it hard to take in over the past few months. This is my life, and it’s not nice what has been said about me if I’m honest.  What I do find strange is that after a private Zoom call with BBC executives on Wednesday night about going forward, this was national news by Thursday morning. 

‘That tells me there’s been a leak. Because it ain’t come from me to be in the press. (It might be from the same person who sent me the email) …..I didn’t want this to be national news, in fact I didn’t want any of this. 

He went on: ‘But now I’m writing a statement so people know the truth as to why I’m not attending, I don’t want people thinking I am bitter when I ain’t.  I don’t want more stories being wrote that ain’t true. I’m not kicking off for attention. I’m not saying I should’ve won either. I was rubbish at dancing we all know that. 

‘But love me or hate me you do have to appreciate the massive following I have, I can’t even walk into the local Tesco without getting stopped for selfies.

‘I just believe in fairness and respect. I wish every dancer tonight the very best. They’ve worked their socks off and they deserve their moment. As for me I’ve got fish to sell on my stall and a family I love more than anything. Thank you for the love as Always. Bosh.’