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MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR
STRICTLY Come Dancing stars Pasha Kovalev and Aljaž Škorjanec have been slammed after dumping a world class ballet dancer from their joint tour without telling him.
Ballet dancer Sam Salter was scheduled for a headline tour with the two dancers and Broadway star Michael Dameski for the Here Come the Boys tour - but he found out from a fan that it had been rescheduled without him.
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Both he and Michael were removed from the tour and replaced with Strictly newcomer Graziano Di Prima for the lucrative 29 date tour.
The ballet star - who last year toured the world in Swan Lake - was upset to discover from a fan that he had been kicked off in favour of Graziano.
And worse still his own mum found out that the tickets she had bought to watch her son tour were still valid for the rescheduled dates.
A source said: "Sam's furious about it all - it's like they've declared war on him and just want to cash in with Graziano after selling tickets using Sam's name and talent.
"He's a professional and knows that things like this can happen in business but for them to not even have the courtesy to tell him the decision had been made is not on.
"He just can't believe they have behaved like this."
Upset Sam blasted the Strictly stars for their actions on social media in a now-deleted rant.
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He said: "The 2021 show was discussed in meetings but obviously with this year’s show being cancelled I was hoping the 2021 tour would [go ahead].
"However I was told that there was no show at all, no more Here Come the Boys at all, it was done.
"So then I find out through a show fan that I’m not in it anymore and then through my mum that her tickets are still valid to go and see the show that I’m not in.
"I found out all that this morning and then they post that and say Sam was really sad. I am sad, yes but how do you even know that because you haven’t asked me?
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"You haven’t even told me directly that you’re going ahead. You’ve literally cropped me out of the poster and put someone else in.
"It’s terrible form, really really disappointed but not as disappointed as I am in the producers of the show that could have handled it better."
Representatives for Pasha and Alijaz have been contacted for comment.
A spokesman for the tour said: "Here Come the Boys enjoyed a hugely successful year in 2019, becoming a hugely successful 'dance show brand' starring a different configuration of dance stars each year. The casting for next year’s tour was always the producer’s decision. Unfortunately, we now understand that Sam’s agent failed to communicate this to him.
"Over three weeks ago we contacted all the headline artists involved in the 2020 version via their representatives, including Sam Salter’s agent, informing them that this tour would be cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
"We were all very upset to see that there had been a break in the communication between Sam and his agent.
"We were also saddened that at the moment we are unable to involve Sam in the 2021 version, as the format had completely changed. However, prior to Sam’s postings on his social medial accounts, we had just opened discussions with his representative to find a way to involve him. Those discussions remain ongoing."