Amanda Abbington 'wasn't invited' to perform at BBC Strictly Come Dancing final

ok.co.uk:

Amanda Abbington "wasn't invited" to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing final, according to insiders, following her early exit from the competition.

The actress, 51, appeared on the 2023 series of Strictly with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, but she was forced to withdraw from the competition after five weeks due to "personal reasons", which she did not expand upon.

Amanda was the only contestant who did not return for the Strictly final in December and it's now been claimed that BBC bosses didn't extend an invite to her, despite asking Nigel Harman to return after he also withdrew from the competition early due to injury.

An insider told The Sun: "There was a lot of talk on set about Amanda's notable absence from the finale, it seemed unfair that Nigel was invited back and she wasn’t. "I imagine she was upset by the snub as it would have been nice to have seen her return for one last dance, especially as she was so popular on the show and well-liked by viewers." At the time of final, which took place on Sunday 17 December, a BBC spokesperson confirmed Amanda wouldn't be attending the last show.The statement read: "Amanda decided to withdraw from the competition; therefore, she will not be returning for the final." Amanda has implied she was "distraught" about not appearing in the Strictly final, after a fan recently shared a post about her on Instagram.Taking to Instagram Stories, the fan said: "I was truly distraught with her sudden departure from the show...