Kimberly Wyatt reveals Strictly bosses turned her down

Kimberly Wyatt has revealed she was told she is ‘too professional’ to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Pussycat Dolls star, 38, is a trained dancer but bosses turned her down after her bandmate Ashley Roberts’ appearance on the show in 2018 led to accusations of a fix as she also had years of dance experience.

Speaking to The Sun, Kimberly said: ‘From any chats that I’ve had, Strictly feel that I’m too professional to be a contestant. 

‘So much as I’d love to learn ballroom, my dancing experience holds me back as a contestant.’

Ashley was a clear front-runner during her series and made it to the final with Pasha Kovalev where she was beaten by Stacey Dooley and her partner Kevin Clifton. 

Kimberly began dancing in her teens and appeared as a dancer in Nick Lachey’s music video for Shut Up.

Robin Antin, the creator of The Pussycat Dolls, was the choreographer for the video and asked Kimberly to be in the group.

Kimberly also spoke about the criticism The Pussycat Dolls received for their raunchy performances on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and on The One Show last year. 

538 viewers complained about the performances, many upset about the revealing costumes the group wore. 

Responding to the criticism, Kimberly said: ‘It makes me sad people are so hung up on costumes. Pussycat Dolls stands for being empowered females owning their space and being there for each other.’

Kimberly previously discussed criticism aimed at the group after a performance on Australian morning show Sunrise angered some viewers last March for similar reasons.

Speaking to news.com.au, she said: ‘I thought we were beyond this, but obviously the conversation needs to continue. 

‘We’re warriors when we step on stage, throwing everything into it. It’s unfortunate that it’s so misunderstood by so many people.’

‘Luckily we have a presence online now and we can help people understand us, understand dance, understand what intention means as a performer.’