‘Clean living’ Strictly star ‘survives the brutal cast cull as he’s signed up for another series’

One of Strictly Come Dancing’s newest pros has reportedly survived horrific casting choices and is set to sign up for the upcoming 24th series.

Julian Caillon, 30, is thought to have impressed bosses enough to stay with the show after six dancers were dropped from the cast.

She took part in the show last year and reached the semi-finals with EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal.

The full list of returning professionals has not been confirmed by Strictly bosses but is expected to be announced in the coming days.

In recent weeks, dancers Karen Hauer (43), Michelle Tsiakkas (30), Nadiya Bychkova (36), Luba Mushtuk (36) and Gorka Marquez (35) were removed from the show.

A source said: ‘Julian was not only liked by the bosses, but also by the audience.’

they continued to tell Sun: ‘Most importantly, he lives a very clean and trouble-free life.

‘His fiancée is a fitness expert and together they are a truly great-looking, clean-living couple; After everything that’s happened in the last few years, this is exactly what the bosses want.’

Julian has 52,000 followers on TikTok, which may have persuaded bosses to keep him on the show after it was reported the dancers were looking at their social media audiences.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives from Strictly Come Dancing for comment.

Sources claimed bosses took some professionals’ TikTok audiences into account when deciding which stars to cast, with dancers with larger online followings continuing to work to attract younger viewers.

Sources claimed bosses considered some professionals’ followings on TikTok when deciding which stars to cancel in the mass cull of the series, opting to keep professionals with larger online followings in a desperate bid to attract younger viewers.

An example of this appears to be the removal of Nadiya, who has 19,000 followers, and the retention of Dianne Buswell, who has an audience of 966,000.

Karen, Strictly’s longest-serving female dancer with 9,000 followers, was cut while newcomer Alexis Warr, 25, with 190,000 followers, was safe.

Fleur East and Janette Manrara have also reportedly been dropped from It Takes Two, a spinoff of the dance show.

Bosses are planning a major shake-up to BBC Two’s weekday schedule following a series of scandals that have rocked the series, insiders say.

Julian has 52,000 followers on TikTok, which may have persuaded bosses to keep him on the show

The full list of returning professionals has not been confirmed by Strictly bosses but is expected to be announced in the coming days

Former Strictly pro Janette, 42, will take over presenting duties in 2021 after eight years on the main show, while pop star Fleur, 38, joined the cast in 2023 after reaching the final the previous year.

But now both stars are said to be in the firing line for executives to move in a bold new direction.

“Fans will be stunned that this bloodbath continues but bosses are determined to completely overhaul the show,” an industry insider said. Sun.

They added: ‘No one feels safe at the moment and after all the recent drama there is a real drive behind the scenes to usher in a new era.

‘But the priority is to start with a clean slate by September and put distance between the show and the controversies of recent years.’

The source said the actions taken by BBC bosses did not mean Janette and Fleur were ‘completely beside the point’ and that other roles could come for them ‘elsewhere’.

Sources suggest bosses are aiming for a completely fresh start after years of criticism and controversy around professional dancers.

Elsewhere, Neil Jones, 43, who rarely had a celebrity dance partner on the show, and Nancy Xu, 34, will also be partnerless this year. It is believed that they can still appear in large group dance numbers.