Strictly Come Dancing wrapped up for another year after marking their 20th anniversary milestone

Strictly Come Dancing star Sarah Hadland rushed to Vito Coppola’s defence

(Image: BBC)

The public adores Strictly Come Dancing, but it’s not been without controversy over the past two decades.

From professional dancers sharing a kiss with their celebrity partner, to on-air rows, Express Online delves into the biggest fails that have hit the BBC show, from laugh-out-loud moments to the downright scandalous.

During the festive season, we will be counting down Strictly’s biggest fails over the years as the show celebrates two decades on air.

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Vito Coppola suffers awkward wardrobe malfunction

Strictly pro Vito Coppola was left awkwardly clutching at his trousers as he exited the dance floor next to Sarah Hadland during this year’s 2024 series.

The dancer held his trousers after suffering an awkward wardrobe malfunction as Sarah attempted to cover the broken zip with her dress.

During the Strictly final, Vito Coppola’s trousers split.

Manoeuvring himself behind his partner Sarah, he was able to keep his dignity before heading up to the Clauditorium to join Claudia Winkleman and other Strictly stars.

(Image: BBC)

Bruno Tonioli and Shirley Ballas

Fans may recall Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli’s awkward moment when the latter awkwardly appeared to grab her cleavage during the live show in 2017.

The moment came seconds after singer Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka put on a heated show and following the scintillating performance prompted flamboyant Bruno to exclaim: “Oh you make me feel so good.”

However, the fiery Italian then turned to Ballas, next to him on the panel, and ran his hand across her breasts.

Bruno schmoozed: “Touchy, feely, soft… so good.”

The incident even shocked host Tess Daly, who reminded Bruno they were live on air.

The BBC refused to confirm how many complaints they received, but an insider suggested that there were about 20.

(Image: BBC)

Katya Jones and Seann Walsh

Katya Jones was embroiled in a kissing scandal with her Strictly partner Seann Walsh.

The professional dancer was pictured kissing the comedian outside of a London pub in October 2018.

Katya was married to Neil Jones, while Seann was in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries during the kiss-gate scandal.

Seann and Katya publicly apologised for the kiss on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two.

Katya and Neil announced their divorce the following year but insisted it had nothing to do with the kiss-gate scandal.

(Image: BBC)

Brendan Cole

Brendan was an intrinsic part of the fabric of Strictly Come Dancing and will go down in history as the first-ever professional to win the BBC show after lifting the Glitterball trophy with newsreader and presenter Natasha Kaplinsky.

However, the dancer was no stranger to ruffling feathers on the show as he fiercely defended his celebrity partners from criticism by the show judges.

During the 2017 series, he was partnered with Charlotte Hawkins and hit back at head judge Shirley Ballas’ criticism live on-air.

The following year Brendan was axed from the BBC series