Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse’s husband Marius Iepure is being lined up to replace Brendan Cole after shock sacking
Hunky Romanian Marius Iepure is already a backing dancer on the show and is said to be a popular member of the team
OTI Mabuse's husband Marius Iepure has been lined up to replace axed Brendan Cole.
Bosses think the Romanian dancer, 35, will add extra eye candy to the show's ranks and his experience behind the scenes means he should fit straight in.
An insider told The Sun Online: "Marius was involved in Strictly last year as a backing dancer and has proved very popular with both the other dancers and production staff alike."
A spokesman for the show declined to comment.
Professional dancer Brendan, 41, announced he had been dropped from Strictly in an emotional interview on Lorraine yesterday.
The Australian was visibly gutted as he revealed the BBC has chosen not to renew his contract.
He said: “It’s quite, actually, hard to talk about.
“The BBC haven’t renewed my contract. We get contracted year upon year. They’ve made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I’m a little bit in shock. I’m quite emotional, a bit raw about it.
“It’s done via a process of a phone call and stuff. I have had 15 incredible series on the show. I’m very proud of the whole show. It’s a great team.”
He continued: “I’m disappointed. It’s very hard to talk about. It’s a recent decision.”
Brendan said: “I’ve always known this day would come. To get to this point, the BBC make the decisions year upon year. It’s an editorial decision. I’m sure I’ll never know the ins and outs. I’m a very strong character within the show, I have my strong views.”
The dancer's most recent partner on the show, Charlotte Hawkins, tweeted how sad she was about the decision.
She wrote: "Sad news from my dance partner @BrendanCole this morning that he won’t be a part of @bbcstrictly anymore. What an end of an era - he’s been such an integral part of the show since it started 15 series ago. It won’t be the same without him 😔😔."
Meanwhile, a Strictly spokesman posted: "We'd like to thank @BrendanCole for being part of the show since the beginning - winner of the first series - and for the contribution he has made to its success. We wish him all the very best for the future."
Brendan said he only told his fellow pros of the news 10minutes before going on air as his "heart had been racing".
He continued: "I would have preferred to have made the decision myself, but maybe I would never have made it because I love being on the show.
“The last five years I haven’t really made much of a noise on the show with my partners, they haven’t been able to do what I’ve wanted to do. No disrespect to them. I haven’t had one of the ones that had a bit of dance experience that you can really challenge.
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“So it’s one of those things where you go, I’ve asked this question many times of myself, ‘When do I leave?’ Every year, I’ve gone, ‘I love the show too much’. I love the fact that I’ve been there from the start. I feel like I’ve made a massive difference to the show and to the show that it is today.”
Brendan won the competition at the first time of asking when he was partnered with Natasha Kaplinsky.
The pairing were plagued by romance rumours and around this time Brendan's then fiancé Camilla Dallerup broke off their engagement.
He would go on to make the final again with Lisa Snowdon and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
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