Eclusive: James Jordan rips into Strictly Come Dancing - insisting half of the 'tired' cast should be AXED and complaining that 'woke' judges have 'gone way too soft' liennhi

Former Strictly Come Dancing pro James Jordan has suggested that half of the cast of the dancing competition should be axed and replaced with fresh faces. 

The dancer, who is currently on tour alongside fellow ex-professionals 

Brendan Cole, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, admitted he was keen to see the entire cast shaken up, including the judging panel, in 'changes' to the BBC series.

James, 47, who appeared on Strictly from 2006 to 2013 - alongside his wife Ola, 43, who left in 2015 - hit out that 'new dancers' should be given a chance at the limelight, taking over from a string of pros who have been there for many years. 

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, the father-of-one said: 'I know it's a big thing to suggest, but we need a shake up of professional dancers.

'You have to know when to hang up your dance shoes, and I think there's a few people on there that maybe need to think about that. 

'They've been on there a long time, they've had their time, and now let someone else younger and fresh come on - let's get rid of 50 per cent of them and bring in some new ones, some young British dancers. 

'I'm not gonna necessarily mention names because I don't think it's fair on the stars, but there's people that have been on there a long time have had their day. 

'Especially when we've got so many amazing dancers out there, home grown dancers as well - it's a British show and there's not enough British dancers.'

It's not just the pros that James is keen to see replaced, as he also hit out that he thought it was time the judging panel featured someone new. 

The last time the judging panel was shaken up was back in 2022, when 

Anton Du Beke replaced Bruno Tonioli to join Motsi Mabuse, who joined in 2019 to replace Darcey Bussell, Shirley Ballas, who joined in 2017 to replace the late Len Goodman

 and original judge Craig Revel Horwood. 

James, who was speaking in conjunction with Freebets, continued: 'Mix them up, too, get someone on there, maybe a previous Strictly pro that is maybe a little bit outspoken and not afraid to say what they think.'

And that wasn't his only bone to pick with the panel - admitting he had been disappointed this series with their lack of hard-hitting criticism. 

While long-standing judge Craig, 60, had long been known as the harshest critic, it was revealed he was forced to 'mellow' his approach earlier this year over fears from the BBC bosses he would 'upset' contestants. 

James continued: 'It's all become a little bit woke, hasn't it?

'Craig's always been one of my favourite judges, to be honest with you, but I do feel he's softened, I prefer the more feisty, fiery Craig.

'I know he said he's changed with the times because you have to be more aware of people's feelings and everything.

'But I personally disagree, I don't think there's anything wrong in life with telling people that they're not good at something. 

'You do have to support them and everything, but if they do something and it's not good, you've gotta say, "that wasn't that great, but you've got to do XY". 

'If you say to someone that Cha Cha was really not good and technically it was bad and this and that and everything's a little bit negative - what's wrong with that?

'I know it's only an entertainment show, but I just feel we're breeding a world of soft people where we're not allowed to say anything negative to anyone.

'I'm not saying you have to be brutal, but there's nothing wrong with telling someone if what they've done isn't good, or that you should you mark everyone high because you are worried about upsetting them.'

He added: 'If they asked me to be a judge, of course I would jump at the chance. I think everyone knows I would be very good at that. 

'It is just obviously whether or not they'd ask me because I am very honest and maybe that scares them a little bit.'

That doesn't mean that James would return to dance on the show if he was asked, confirming: 'I've been there, done it, got the T-shirt, I did eight amazing years on Strictly and loved every second.

'I wouldn't want to come back as a professional dancer.' 

Instead, James and his fellow former Strictly pros Brendan, Pasha, Vincent and Ian have extended their tour, titled The Return of the Legends, after popularity with fans. 

Despite his suggestions about changes to the show, James insisted he and his tour co-stars 'still love' Strictly, adding: 'We still are interested in and love the show. 

'It's still nice to watch it and know that you were there once doing it and now there's other people and there doing it, we we've still got a vested interest in it.'

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday and Sunday nights at 6:05pm and 7:15pm on BBC One and iPlayer. Tickets for The Return of the Legends Tour can be found at legendsofthedancefloor.com.