STRICTLY fans have been left furious after they realised three pros have been ‘ditched’ in the new series.

The BBC One series returned on Saturday night with a glittering launch show.

BBC

Strictly fans have been left furious after they realised three pros have been ‘ditched’ in the new series[/caption]

bbc

15 celebs were paired up on tonight’s launch shows[/caption]

PA

Carlos Gu has not been given a celeb partner this year[/caption]

It saw the 15 new celebrities paired up with a professional partner.

However, by the end of the programme, Strictly fans realised three of their favourites had been left without a celeb.

Michelle Tsiakkas was given her first ever celebrity – having been paired with EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick – returning pro Aljaž Škorjanec was also given a partner in the form of Love Island‘s Tasha Ghouri.

But that meant Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley and Kai Widdrington were not given a celebrity to train.

This is despite the fact that Carlos and Kai have been finalists in the past, and Lauren won a legion of fans last year when paired with Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

Strictly fans were quick to share their fury on X, with one writing: “Have just been ranting about this for the last 20 minutes. Who’s idea was it to ditch Carlos, Lauren and Kai?!?”

Another raged: “I will be writing incredibly strongly worded letters about the benching of Lauren and Carlos. WHO’S BAD IDEA WAS THAT?”

A third added: “Don’t get me wrong, I love Aljaz, but what was the point of bringing him back if it means great pros like Kai and Carlos are left without a partner? I’m especially gutted that we’re not going to see Carlos.”

Meanwhile a fourth shared: “I’m really sad that Lauren, Kai and Carlos have been benched though…someone has to be but not necessarily who I would have chosen if I’m honest.”

They weren’t alone with their anger, as a fellow Strictly viewer tweeted: “WHO thought it was a good idea to bench Kai, Carlos and Lauren!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not cool.”

Kai has already broken his silence on not having a partner this year, having previously danced with AJ Odudu, Kaye Adams and most recently, Angela Rippon.

He told the Daily Star: “Everyone wants to get a celebrity.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t my time this series. Two boys couldn’t have one this series and sadly I am one of them.

“Some of us don’t get partners and that’s the way it is.

“Let’s see what happens next year. Hopefully I’ll get one then.”

PA

Kai Widdrington has opened up about not having a celeb partner this year[/caption]

PA

Lauren Oakley has also missed out[/caption]

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

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FRUSTRATED drivers on England’s roads crawl along at a snail’s pace of just fifteen miles per hour, latest figures show.

Congestion, 20mph speed limits and roadworks all slow down the average journey.

Researchers found that motorists in Brighton move most sluggishly, averaging a glacial 13mph.

In the analysis of the average speeds on A roads from 2019 to 2023, Reading was second slowest at 13.6mph, with Nottingham third on 13.8mph.

Southampton was the fourth slowest with an average of 14.3mph and Slough was fifth on 14.9mph.

Manchester, Bristol, Plymouth, Liverpool and Kingston upon Hull all ranked on the slow driving list.

The average speed would be even lower, but London was not included in the figures as it would “skew the findings”.

In October last year, the previous government announced it wanted to curb the use of 20mph speed limits nationwide amid campaigners’ pleas.

A Plan for Drivers was published, which stated: “20mph speed limits in England must be used appropriately — not as unwarranted blanket measures.”

Wales had earlier become the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads.

But many motorists argue it has led to traffic chaos.

The data from the National Highways National Traffic Information Service was analysed by car part website Ovoko.

It said: “It is clear that driving on the speed limit, particularly in major cities, is challenging.

“Many urban areas are beginning to enforce 20mph speed limits on all roads for safety reasons.

“But most are moving around our cities at just 15mph.”

STRICTLY fans have demanded a major format shake-up as the show returned for its 20th series.

The hit BBC series made a triumphant comeback after being shrouded in complaints and a bullying investigation this year.

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Strictly Come Dancing returned tonight for its 20th series[/caption]

Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke once again took their seats on the judging panel.

And the likes of Towie star Pete Wicks, Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri and presenter Nick Knowles set the studio alight in a group dance at the end of the episode.

They are part of a 15-strong line-up who will compete to win the infamous Glitterball trophy as the contest celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Though the majority of viewers rejoiced as the show opened with a 90s inspired intro followed by a dance to mark Amy Dowden’s return, others felt that it wasn’t as good as it had been in years gone by.

One suggested the celebrity cast should be cut down, and others demanded that bosses splash more money on the line-up.

They said: “Original #Strictly only had 8 contestants, 15 far too many, no reason not to have a shorter series run as no opposition! Still be v popular.”

Another moaned: “The budget was obviously cut when it came to #Strictly celebrities this year. The average panto has a better known cast!”

One more suggested “Have they slashed the budget for #Strictly this year? That intro was just one big green screen”.

Fans speculated that these concerns may have contributed to a more challenging environment for attracting female competitors, potentially leading to fewer women stepping onto the dancefloor this series.

The results of an internal investigation have yet to be announced following the departure of Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice.

BBC director Tim Davie has expressed regret over the scandal, stating, “I’m very sorry that anyone has had an experience on Strictly that hasn’t been wholly positive.”

Despite the controversies, the hit BBC show continues to enjoy strong public support, having won the National Television Award for Talent Show of the Year on Wednesday, marking its ninth consecutive win in the category.

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Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000.

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THE kidnapper of glamorous teen heiress Patty Hearst who became a gun-wielding terrorist has revealed chilling new details 50 years on.

Two armed Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) members stormed into Patty’s residence when she was a 19-year-old art history student at UC Berkeley.

Archive Photos - Getty

Patty Hearst is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Bettmann Archive

Patty Hearst during her time as an SLA member[/caption]

They beat her fiancee half to death and put her inside a Chevy Impala trunk while she was chained, gagged and blindfolded.

Hearst was carried by William “Bill” Harris on the evening of February 4, 1974.

Harris is a Vietnam veteran with an undergraduate degree in theatre and a masters in urban education from Indiana University. 

After that, he ran away from the law for a year and a half, hiding out in different safehouses while the young lady remained in his grasp.

But Hearst’s allegiances changed a few months later, and in an odd turn of events, she joined the organisation that abducted her and blasted her wealthy parents as “pig Hearsts.”

Harris told the Los Angeles Times: “I thought, ‘Why would you want to go from being an heiress to being targeted for assassination by the government?’

“I spent hours trying to convince her that staying with us was a bad idea.”

Harris argues the SLA did not intend to keep Hearst forever.

The Tupamaros, Uruguayan Marxists known for staging dramatic abductions, motivated the group to kidnap her in the first place.

Harris earlier revealed that the SLA kidnapped the 19-year-old because she “was a symbolic target, she was an heiress.”

Getty - Contributor

Patty Hearst poses for an FBI mugshot after her arrest for bank robbery on September 18, 1975 in San Francisco, California[/caption]

Corbis - Getty

The newspaper heiress is led to her 1976 trial by two federal marshals[/caption]

He said: “Her family was in control of a media empire that we viewed as an arm of propaganda for the US government.

“We had already determined that Hearst was a particularly easy target and that the propaganda that could be generated from it was perfect.”

They intended to exchange Hearst for two SLA militants who had been detained after shooting and killing an Oakland school administrator with shots tipped with cyanide.

It was a sort of prisoner swap, but the scheme apparently went nowhere.

“She was gonna go home and explain her captivity in the People’s Prisons we set up for her,” said Harris.

“That would have been good propaganda. That’s what I thought it should be.”

But the group’s objectives were never fulfilled, and Hearst started to feel a connection to them.

“She hated her mother. She didn’t want to go home,” Harris said, claiming that she was angry that her mum Catherine Hearst had been reappointed to the UC Board of Regents by then-Governor Ronald Reagan of California.

Prior to her sudden conversion into an ardent supporter ready to carry out violent bank robberies on behalf of the organisation, the SLA exploited Hearst as a negotiating tool to further their own socialist goals.

The SLA delivered menacing audio tape demands to the Hearst family, including using their fortune to feed those in need as soon as they claimed responsibility for snatching Hearst.

In a desperate attempt to save his daughter, her father, Randolph Apperson Hearst, who was the San Francisco Examiner’s publisher at the time, donated $2 million to the People in Need programme.

On February 22, People in Need began distributing high-quality food purchased with Hearst family ransom money.

Chaos erupted as organisers hastily threw food from trucks to the masses on San Francisco‘s streets.

Reagan, at a private luncheon, reportedly criticised the handouts, saying, “It’s just too bad we can’t have an epidemic of botulism.”

The giveaways lasted until March 27, when the money ran out.

Despite their efforts, on April 3, the SLA released a video of Hearst announcing she had joined their fight and adopted the alias “Tania.”

Soon after, the SLA robbed Hibernia Bank, with security cameras capturing Hearst wielding an M1 Carbine.

This image convinced many she had embraced leftist militancy, according to the FBI.

In a follow-up tape, Hearst bragged: “On April 15, my comrades and I expropriated $10,660.02 from the Sunset branch of Hibernia Bank.

“Casualties could have been avoided had the persons involved kept out of the way and cooperated with the people’s forces until after our departure.”

Hearst’s loyalty deepened when she fired at an Inglewood store after a clerk tried to apprehend Harris, allowing him and his wife, Emily, to escape.

Harris later said: “I figured she’d be smart and head on back to the safehouse.

“She picked up my machine gun, and she fired a burst of about 10 rounds, and some of the bullets hit about two feet from my face.”

This act led to the downfall of the SLA.

Police tracked the getaway van to a south LA safehouse, leading to a shootout.

Six SLA members died, including leader Donald DeFreeze.

Harris, watching from a hotel, later remarked: “We all made choices to do something we knew might get us killed.”

The SLA was crippled, but the fugitives still needed money.

Before Hearst became an enthusiastic supporter, the SLA used her as leverage to push their socialist agenda.

Harris, after serving eight years, remarried, raised a family, and worked as a private investigator before retiring in San Francisco.

Reflecting on his past, he said: “You can be an ex-terrorist and be rehabilitated.”

More prosecutions followed for the 1975 Carmichael robbery, driven by Jon Opsahl, whose mother Myrna was killed.

Surprisingly, Jon viewed Hearst as “probably as much a victim of the SLA as I am.”

He added: “She suffered big-time… enough to affect a young, naïve 19-year-old.”

In 2002, four SLA members, including Harris and Emily, pleaded guilty to Myrna Opsahl’s murder.

Emily admitted to firing the fatal shotgun blast and served eight years, while Harris, the getaway driver, served four.

Harris speculated the Hearst family avoided a trial to protect the narrative that Hearst was acting under duress, saying: “I knew they would find some way to make us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”

AFP

AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries. The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to

The post Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games appeared first on KYMA.

Strictly Come dancing could not be addressed the recent scandals such as The series returned to British television on Saturday for its 20th anniversary. The BBC programme’s high point was marred by scandal, with actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly leaving the series in October last year after alleging that her partner Giovanni Pernice had abused her. […]