Nadiya Bychkova has been removed from the lineup of Strictly Come Dancing, a decision reportedly influenced by her backstage behavior and personal relationships, including her romance with fellow dancer Kai Widdrington and her friendship with Dan Walker.

According to insiders, the speculation that the 36-year-old Ukrainian dancer was dismissed due to her age is inaccurate. The Daily Mail has learned that the true reasons lie elsewhere.

Nadiya’s departure from the popular BBC One show primarily stems from her conduct off the dance floor, which has drawn significant attention.

Her dramatic backstage outbursts reportedly irritated her colleagues, and her breakup with Kai, who is 30, created a tense atmosphere among the professional dancers, making interactions uncomfortable for those around them.

Their two-year relationship reportedly didn’t sit well with the show’s management, who prefer not to have former partners working closely together to maintain a peaceful environment.

Furthermore, BBC executives were concerned that her close friendship with Dan, a married father of three, brought the kind of attention to the show that they would rather avoid.

Nadiya is known in Strictly circles to be ‘uncompromising’ behind the scenes and did not react well to not having a celebrity partner in the 2023 series, believing she was one of the show’s most popular stars at the time – and she made that known to all concerned.

However, she earned a reprieve the following year when she was paired up with Team GB swimmer Tom Dean and, in 2025, she competed with former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.

Despite dancing with two sportsmen, Nadiya secured two disappointing early exits, finishing 15th and 13th respectively, and her poor performances did not go unnoticed by bosses.

Friends of Nadiya Bychkova say her Strictly axing ‘smacks of ageism’ and say the star is ‘devastated’ to be let go. But insiders say those claims are ‘wide of the mark’

The truth is Nadiya wasn’t particularly popular with BBC bosses who frowned upon her two year relationship with fellow dancer Kai Widdrington because their break up was unsettling 

And BBC chiefs weren’t fans of her friendship with married Strictly co-star Dan Walker, the former BBC star (pictured) because they felt it brought unwelcome scrutiny to the show

An insider said: ‘Strictly is a light entertainment show, but it has to be competitive – otherwise it doesn’t work.

‘Execs want the pros to treat the series like a sport and get the best results out of their partners, without going over the top and avoiding bullying scandals which have marred the show in recent years, of course.

‘But Nadiya’s last three outings with a celebrity partner (also including Matt Goss) haven’t pulled up any trees – she hasn’t even made the top 10 with any of them.

‘So in order to keep standards high, there’s hoping whoever fills Nadiya’s place on the line-up will achieve better results.’

Nadiya’s best place finish was 5th in 2021 with former BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker, 48.

The pair grew close while competing on the series, regularly appearing on each other’s social media posts in order to drum up votes, as is commonplace in the modern world of Strictly.

However, their continued devoted friendship ‘became the talk of Strictly’, given Dan has been married to his wife Sarah for 25 years yet he’s still happy to gush over his former dance partner five years after they performed together on the BBC show – and Nadiya’s been equally complimentary.

Last June, the Daily Mail revealed Dan flew back from a family holiday to present an award show at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London which Nadiya would be attending, only to jet back as soon as he wrapped up proceedings, raising even more eyebrows.

Sources revealed that Dan, who name-checked Nadiya on several occasions during his presentation of the TRIC Awards, acted as her ‘Instagram husband’, taking time to capture the star from her best angles with a ring light, before they continued their night together at an intimate after party, held at the 5-star hotel’s Red Bar.

The father of three, with strong Christian faith, explained how he had flown to the capital from Nice, France, leaving his family and wife Sarah to adhere to his work duties, before flying back on a 6am flight to continue their quality time together.

It was just another example of how their friendship irked show bosses.

A separate show source said: ‘Nadiya’s relationship with Dan still wrangles with many execs, it makes them feel uncomfortable and triggers needless attention.

‘It’s not a great look for either of them, but as Nadiya is still connected with the show, she has more to lose by seemingly parading this cosy connection. Their friendship became a problem.’

Nadiya’s shock exit as part of a big Strictly shake-up was confirmed on Sunday.

The mother-of-one was axed along with long serving Gorka Marquez, 35, Luba Mushtuk, 36 and relative newcomer Michelle Tsiakas, 30.

Producers are believed to want a ‘fresh start’ for the 2026 series of BBC One juggernaut following years of scandal, which will also include new hosts after Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman both stepped down from their roles last October.

Given Nadiya, Gorka and Luba are all in their mid-thirties, the axing of the trio has sparked talk of an ageism row.

But our insider says older dancers are actually more valued by bosses, given they have more of a following.

The source said: ‘Viewers like the older dancers and show chiefs are more than aware of that.

Despite dancing with two sportsmen, including TeamGB swimmer Tom Dean, Nadiya secured two disappointing early exits, finishing 15th and 13th and her poor performances were noted

‘They like their familiarity and how they adapt to different celebrities each year.

‘Anton De Beke competed in his 50s before being made a judge and Johannes Radebe, Dianna Buswell, Lauren Oakley and Katya Jones are all mid-to-late 30s, and they all appear to be staying on.’

The source added: ‘It’s just a case of freshening things up but adding a few new additions.

‘But what it does proves, if the pros want to remain on the show, they have to be on their best behaviour more than ever.’