STRICTLY Come Dancing is embroiled in backstage tension due to two stars ‘refusing to stand next to each other’ on screen, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
Professional dancers Kai Widdrington, 29, and Nadiya Bychkova, 35, are said to be avoiding each other behind the scenes following their break-up.
Things are so frosty between the former couple that they are standing on opposite sides of the set during live broadcasts.
Ever Saturday night, the pros and celebrities are required to gather in the ‘Clauditorium’ after each Strictly pairing has performed.
But when Claudia Winkleman is interviewing the contestants, Kai and Nadiya refuse to stand near each other.
A source told The Sun: “It’s painfully obvious Nadiya and Kai are in the awkward post-break up phase and struggling to be near one another.
“Obviously that’s the risk that comes with dating someone at work, so they’re both trying their best to steer clear of each other.
“When the pair are in the Clauditorium, they’re always on opposite sides. Although they may have big smiles on their faces when the cameras are running, it’s been very tense between them.
“They refuse to be near each other at all on set- but there’s not much room up there with all the professionals.
“They just have to do their best to avoid each other every weekend.”
The Sun has contacted Kai and Nadiya’s rep. The BBC had no comment to make.
Former Strictly Come Dancing couple Kai and Nadiya split over the summer after two years of dating.
Following their break-up it was reported that bosses at Strictly were considering banning workplace romances due to the tension it can cause backstage.
An insider told the Daily Mail that such romances “have the potential to create negative situations for Strictly and the BBC“.
In September, was claimed Kai and Nadiya had to be kept apart at the National Television Awards.
An onlooker said: “When the pair got inside the O2 they gave each other a very wide berth.
“Organisers had ensured there would be no awkward camera shots by keeping the frosty pair apart from each other.”
Strictly Come Dancing professionals Kai Widdrington and Nadia Bychkova began dating in 2022.
Before they confirmed their relationship, the pair were spotted looking extremely cosy on a night out with friends.
In January 2023, the couple gave their first interview to The Sun and Kai admitted they had taken extreme measures to hide their romance from the public.
Kai said: “We knew that it would come out and that it would be a big thing, so we kept it private for as long as we could, which was both annoying and exciting at the same time.
“It was one of those things. We would go somewhere and only we knew we were there.
“Sometimes we would go out in disguise, or baseball caps pulled down low, etc, and we knew this period of time was only going to last a little bit.”
Kai said he and Nadia told Strictly bosses about their relationship “out of courtesy”.
But earlier this year, Kai and Nadiya began to “drift apart”.
They went on tour together for a month in the summer and decided to split once it was over.
At the time, a friend told The Sun: “They had to dance sexily and romantically together for days and nights on end, whilst trying to work through their off-stage problems. It must have been exhausting on every level.
“But they didn’t want to let down their fans, and were consummate professionals: they knew the show, quite literally, must go on.
“After a rough few weeks, they sat down together once the tour was over and decided to call it quits. It was a mutual decision.”
Earlier this month, Nadiya gave an update on her feelings towards her ex.
The star, who is mum to seven-year-old Mila from a previous relationship, told The Mirror: “We work together but we are not friends and that’s ok.
“One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I’m a professional.”
Kai and Nadiya called time on their romance, which began in 2022, after a stint on tour together.
There was no third party involved and pals said the pair just “grew apart” after two “blissful” years together.
“It’s heartbreaking,” a friend said. “Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love.
“But the pressures of touring – being in each other’s space 24/7, and the stress of performing a sell-out show eventually took its toll.
“After a tough few weeks, they sat down together and decided to call it quits. They remain incredibly close and are determined their split will not have any impact on the next series of Strictly – they remain consummate professionals, and nothing will change that.”
