James Jordan, who previously appeared as a professional on Strictly Come Dancing, has addressed the supposedly harsh criticism of female contestants on the show as he recalled his own experiences

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James Jordan says ‘jealousy’ is the reason behind harsh criticism of females on Strictly Come Dancing(Image: Rex)

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has claimed that ‘jealousy’ is the reason behind the harsh criticism of female contestants on the show. The TV star, 47, appeared on the programme from 2006 until 2013, and guided the likes of Vanessa Feltz, Gabby Logan and Alex Jones through their time on the competition.

Every year, celebrity contestants who have had some form of dance training already seem to cause controversy, and this year is no exception, with Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope having previously starred on the West End and competed on Got To Dance over a decade ago.

Fellow musical theatre star Amber Davies, who trained at a prestigious London drama school before launching her career via Love Island, has had to address her supposed advantage in the competition whilst trying to impress judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse.

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James was on the show from 2006 until 2013 and saw a number of female contestants through their time on the competition(Image: PA)

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The TV star recalled being caught up in the row of contestants with previous experience when he was paired with musical theatre star Denise Van Outen(Image: PA)

When it comes to the notion that some of the female contestants seem to have to deal with more negative feedback from the judges than their male counterparts, he insisted that it is because of a double standard at play that stems from female jealousy.

He said: “For some reason, they always seem to pick on the girls, I don’t know why, they never pick on the boys for having dance training. I will tell you why, it’s because women are jealous. That is what it is. Women are jealous of other women being successful, and then you have a couple of good-looking guys on the show who have had dance training, but we say nothing.”

James, who is married to former co-star Ola Jordan, recalled his personal experience of the backlash when he was paired with Denis Van Outen in 2013, who trained in musical theatre before launching her career via The Big Breakfast and eventually treading the boards in shows like Tell Me On A Sunday and Legally Blonde. Prior to her Strictly stint, she had also served as a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical theatre talent searches Any Dream Will Do and I’d Do Anything.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he added: “I only really experienced a backlash once and it’s just one of those things that is disappointing for the partnership in general. You feel that people don’t like you and they’re not supporting you because of that. It’s a kick in the teeth and you’re going into the training room thinking we can’t win if we’re too good.”

James also noted that the viewing public don’t see the work that goes into a weekly performance, recalling that himself and Denise would rehearse for up to 12 hours a day, because the ‘expectation was so high’ for them. In the end, James and Denise reached the final and finished as runners-up with Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh and Pasha Kovalev, whilst Olympian Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace won the whole series.

He added: “The dancers with professional training, once they go out there and they’re good and people know you have dance training, they expect it to be amazing every week.”

Podcaster and actress Amber joined Strictly late after fellow Love Island winnner Dani Dyer had to pull out due to an injury. Some fans were enraged by this, as Amber has dance experience, having done it professionally as part of her musical theatre career.

Amber recently responded, revealing that she has, in fact, worked for her success and will continue to do so on Strictly. “We see the same thing over and over again and I feel like it doesn’t matter what I say or how I feel, if I’m struggling, people will of course have things to say because I do musical theatre,” she said.

Amber went on to say: “I have worked my a**e off to be taken seriously in the musical theatre world, and I feel like I have been working so hard. The musical theatre world is actually quite small so once you work hard, you are committed, consistent in your job and are a good company member, you can build your reputation quite quickly within the industry.”