Aljaž Leaves Strictly

Aljaž Škorjanec has announced that he has decided to leave Strictly Come Dancing.

The news was announced by the BBC, followed by a personal post by Aljaž on Instagram:

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A post shared by Aljaž Škorjanec (@aljazskorjanec)

It's not a huge surprise that Aljaž has decided to move on. He has competed for nine years, won on his first attempt with Abby and also reached the final with Gemma. I'm sure the fact that Janette moved out of the competition to It Takes Two also made the experience during the last series different to previous years.

I had Aljaž pegged to be the new Anton, likely getting paired with the older participants due to his warm and caring nature, as well as his mature attitude and experience. So perhaps it's a shrewd move to leave now.

Aljaž seems to be happy not to be in the limelight. He enjoyed a social media break during the first lockdown while most of the other pros filled their days with live streams. 

Aljaž & Janette are heading out on another Remembering... tour soon, and he'll be a part of the Burn The Floor reunion as well. I'm sure there will be plenty of other dance and media work available to him if he wants it.

Aljaž is one of the most popular pros, and we'll definitely miss him. Especially when he reads the It Takes Two captions.

There have been so many great Aljaž routines over the years. Aljaž getting lost in Alison Hammond's sleeve during their American Smooth was nothing short of iconic. But his quickstep with Abby is probably my favourite: