Skinner's casting on Strictly feels like a serious misstep

News that Thomas Skinner, the former ‘Apprentice’ star and pal of JD Vance, has joined the show’s roster of celebrities has sparked an online backlash,

- Rachel McGrath

Bosh. If Strictly bosses were hoping for a smoother ride after last year's controversy-hit series, it appears they're already in trouble. BBC One's shiny floor show will be back in a matter of weeks and the lineup announcement has naturally sparked the usual debate over the calibre of stars set to appear. Love Island's Dani Dyer and trailblazing model Ellie Goldstein may be among the highlights, but this year, there's one booking that's already dominating conversation: Thomas Skinner.

If you don't know who he is then congratulations for quitting Twitter (or X, depending on when you pulled the plug), and ditching The Apprentice before the show became a monotonous farce. Skinner first strode onto our screens in the 2019 series, and by the time he was fired by Lord Sugar in week nine, he'd proved to be reality TV gold with his confident, cheeky persona and his pathological tendency to say “bosh” after every minor achievement.

Afterwards, he popped up on TV a few more times with bookings including 8 Out of 10 Cats and Celebrity MasterChef, while also returning to family life and his businesses - albeit with a significantly bigger social media following.