House of the Dragon actor and other stars who recently turned down Strictly

House of the Dragon's James Dreyfus said he turned down Strictly over trolling fears.

The actor – who plays a small role on Rhaenyra's council as Lord Gormon Massey in House of the Dragon – gave his public support to Amanda Abbington on Wednesday night after her emotional interview with Channel 4 detailing the onslaught of death and rape threats she has faced in the light of her complaint about Strictly pro dancer Giovanni Pernice. Abbington has claimed Pernice bullied her and the pro dancer rejected "any claims of threatening or abusive behaviour". The BBC is investigating.

We take a look at what Dreyfus had to say about walking away from the BBC show's offer and who are the other stars that have swerved appearing on the dance floor in recent years and months...

James Dreyfus

Dreyfus revealed he was in talks with BBC bosses to do Strictly last year and had gone along for an initial Zoom meeting to discuss it. However, the Gimme Gimme Gimme star admitted he had concerns because of his strong opinions and he felt he would be a "controversial" figure.

He wrote on X: "I was asked to do Strictly last year. I spoke with producers at an initial Zoom meeting. I told them about my opinions, my support for women’s rights, & warned them that I’d be a “controversial choice”, so I wanted to know if they’d have my back, should I receive an online backlash. They said yes. And, to be honest, I believed them, as they seemed understanding & sincere. Ultimately, I decided it wasn’t for me."

When he found out Abbington had been signed up to the show, he admitted he had concerns about the trolling she could face and he took action.

He said: "The next thing I heard was that Amanda had been signed. So I wrote to the producers I’d spoken with, pleading with them to make sure they had HER back, as she’d previously had terrible abuse here on ‘X’.

"I asked them to take care of her, as she’d recently had pile on after pile on for speaking her mind & had since left ‘X’. I heard nothing back. And why would I? I was nothing to do with the programme any longer & I assumed my email had been read & its contents noted."

David Baddiel

Comedian David Baddiel only last week revealed he had many reasons for turning down the BBC's offer for Strictly. Hilariously, the TV star poked fun at himself and the show when making the big reveal on social media platform X.

He wrote: "I have been asked to be on Strictly. There are many reasons why I said no, but the main one was knowing I would never be able to say, unironically, things like "I just can't wait to dance the Pasodoble.""

Asked by one of his following whether he would be the England football manager, he quipped: "That I would be great at."

Jeff Brazier

His son Bobby Brazier made it all the way to the final with his pro dancer Dianne Buswell but Jeff Brazier recently said doing the Strictly 2024 series would make him feel "uncomfortable" following on from his son's success.

He told Closer magazine: "I would be uncomfortable doing the next series, because I feel like that was Bobby’s world. I want to leave that as his thing." The devoted dad had cheered his son on while he was competing on the BBC show last year and documented his support on Instagram.

While Brazier doesn't want to do Strictly Come Dancing, that doesn't mean he will rule out other reality TV shows. It's rumoured he will appear on Celebrity Race Across the World 2024 alongside his younger son Freddie.

Amy Nuttall

Former Emmerdale star Amy Nuttall has no regrets about saying no to Strictly last year but she hasn't totally ruled it out in the future. In April, she told OK! magazine: "Never say never, but I don’t think it’s for me. I’m more the audience side of things – I enjoy watching it."

At the time she said no to bosses ahead of the 2023 series in September, she was facing heartbreak at home. It was reported she split from her husband Andrew Buchan, with whom she raises her children, for the second time in August last year.

However, it now appears that the actor has reconciled with her husband as she said she was still married in an interview with The Sunday Times earlier this year. In discussing her salary, she told the publication: "Generally speaking, in the last financial year — what can I tell you? — below a hundred grand, but I’m married so it all goes into one pot. So it’s not as scary because I can lean on that."

Brian Cox

Succession actor Brian Cox, 77, too said in recent months that he turned down Strictly because "I'm getting too old for it anyway". "I've actually been asked to be on it," he said on the BBC One programme Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in December last year.

Despite being asked, he shared his concerns that he could become the "joke" on the BBC show. He said: "I declined. I mean, I like dancing, don't get me wrong... I just don't know why, but I always see that there's a sort of joke element in it. There's almost a character that's going to be getting the elbow... and I just thought, 'I don't know if I want to go down that road'."

Read more: Strictly

• Strictly Come Dancing 2024 line-up rumours, start date and more

• Strictly 2024 pro dancers in full as Graziano Di Prima exits

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/house-of-the-dragon-stars-turned-down-strictly-135030086.html