STRICTLY Come Dancing fans fear Nikita Kuzmin is quitting the BBC show after signing up for Celebrity Big Brother.
The Ukrainian professional dancer has become a very popular figure with both the cast and viewers in his three years on the show.
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But the surprise move to take part in a rival entertainment show has opened the door to speculation around his future.
Nikita shared a final photo dump of pictures from the recently completed Strictly arena tour.
Among them were pictures with his show partner Layton Williams and fellow pro Dianne Buswell.
He wrote on Instagram: “Missing all of these lovely people and happy moments.
“Last tour pics btw :(“
The bittersweet post had followers concerned it was a farewell of sorts to the programme.
One commented: “Don’t quit strictly, keeeeep dancing.”
Another posted: “Missing tour too! Praying your back for 2024.”
A third said: “Is it true you could be quitting strictly to do CBB? Please can you just do both, don’t quit anything.”
The Sun understands the Big Brother move has angered Strictly bosses and put his place on the show in jeopardy.
They prefer professional dancers to remain exclusive to their channel, and believe appearances on competing shows puts Strictly at risk.
A source told The Sun: “Bosses at Strictly are hopping mad after learning that Nikita has signed up for the rival show.
“He is one of their biggest stars after reaching the final with Layton, and they don’t much like their pro dancers doing other shows on rival channels.
“The Beeb like their talent to be exclusive to them and they feel like Celebrity Big Brother isn’t the sort of thing their cast should be doing.
“This has put his future on the show in jeopardy and there are lots of discussions going on behind closed doors about whether he will be asked back.”
A rep for Strictly declined to comment.
Nikita has seen his profile soar after being partnered with presenter Tilly Ramsay, Paralympian Ellie Simmonds and most recently West End star Layton.
CBB’s launch on Monday night will be on arch rival ITV1 — prompting claims the dancer may have turned his back on the Beeb.
Others tipped for the house include former X Factor judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, ex-This Morning host Fern Britton and Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu.
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