Furious BBC bosses slash Will Young’s pay by £20K as he ‘quits Strictly via email after realising he can’t win’ leaving dance partner ‘livid’
Will refused to reveal exactly why he left the competition when he was approached while walking his dogs in a London park yesterday
STRICTLY bosses have accused Will Young of quitting simply because he realised he could not win.
The singer lost £20,000 of his £25,000 fee for breaking his contract and left his professional partner Karen Clifton seething.
Last night a show source said: “It became obvious that despite his huge dance background he was never going to be a contender because there are so many better celebs.
“The few previous contestants to go have quit because they’re injured or a family member has died – not because they feel they can’t win.”
Yesterday Will, who had been the bookies’ early favourite, walked his dogs in a South West London park, still refusing to reveal exactly why he left.
But insiders said the tipping point came in Saturday’s bust up with veteran judge Len Goodman, viewed by fans as a national treasure.
Len, 72, criticised Will’s Bollywood dance for not having enough salsa in it.
Will, 37, replied there was “24 counts of eight in the dance”, prompting Len to tell him to “show up, keep up and shut up”.
Sources say Len was shocked that a contestant would answer back like that.
Hundreds of viewers tweeted in support of him — and Will realised he had not only lost the judges but the fans too.
Pals said Will had been devastated to have received only mediocre scores and that he may have been hoping to repeat his infamous confrontation with Simon Cowell in 2002.
Cowell was a judge on Pop Idol, which Will went on to win and launched his pop career.
Will walked out late on Tuesday, vaguely citing “personal reasons”.
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He had refused to train with his partner Karen, 34, the day before. She is said to be “livid” after being initially delighted she was paired with a potential winner.
Will, a huge fan of the show, had ruffled BBC feathers be fore the launch by insisting on drafting all his press statements and then gave hardly any interviews that were not required in his contract.
In one he claimed he had never danced before without a microphone in his hand.
The Sun then revealed his musical theatre studies, West End performances and an interview where he talked about taking weekly ballet lessons for nine years.
After three dances he was shocked to see the high standard of routines from Danny Mac, 27, Daisy Lowe, 27, Greg Rutherford, 29, and Ore Oduba, 29.
His self-doubt grew and production staff were surprised to see him reluctant to go out on the dancefloor.
An insider recalled: “Will seemed very low and worried after the first couple of shows and he was obviously getting frustrated that he wasn’t getting high scores.
“He didn’t seem like he wanted to be there and wasn’t enjoying it anymore.”
Another said: “Bosses were then sent an email morning saying he didn’t want to be a part of it, with a long statement that had obviously been written for him by his management team.
RIDDLE OVER FAMILY RIFT
WILL Young may be in the middle of a family rift, his friends said yesterday
The singer was the only contestant not to have his parents cheering in the audience.
But it was unclear why dad Robin, 66, mum Annabel, 64, or sister Emma, 41, had stayed away from the Strictly studios. There was also nothing about the show on Annabel’s Facebook page and neither she nor Robin would comment on Will’s exit.
A source said: “Will has been looking very down. He’s a very temperamental character and something has kicked off which must have really knocked his confidence. It was odd he was the only person not to have his family supporting him.
“Laura Whitmore’s mum flew over from Ireland but Will’s parents only live down the road in Berkshire.” Friends say Will may also be troubled by his twin Rupert’s ongoing battle with the booze.
The source said: “He was anxious about stepping out to perform on Saturday. There were fears his brother might have had another relapse.”
“He was a huge fan of the show and that was the main reason he wanted to do it. But the public’s reaction to his pop at Len was probably the final straw and convinced him that you need both the judges and the viewers on your side to win the show.”
As well as trousering just £5,000 of his agreed fee, Will Young also misses out on bonuses that stars receive for getting to Blackpool and the show’s live tour next year.
Meanwhile BBC crisis meetings were held to try and work out how to rearrange the schedule.
Producers have already ruled out bringing back EastEnders star Tameka Empsom, 39 — voted off by the judges on Saturday — because she was put in the bottom two by public votes.
There are also no plans to shorten the schedule, meaning this year’s final is likely to feature two couples rather than three.
Last night a BBC spokeswoman said they were unable to discuss individual contracts.