‘I was delighted to be eliminated’

Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Brendan Cole revealed he was pleased he was eliminated when he was partnered with singing superstar Lulu on the show.
Brendan, who left the show after 2017, has admitted that in order to get on with your dance partner, you need to have a “mutual respect” for each other. And there was only one time in his entire Strictly career that he found it extremely hard to bond with his partner.
In 2011, Brendan was partnered with singer Lulu and the pair were eliminated six weeks into the competition. But for Brendan, this was the only time he was happy to be eliminated.

Brendan usually got on with his partners (credit: ITV)

Brendan Cole on what makes a great partnership on Strictly Come Dancing
Speaking exclusively to ED!, Brendan admitted that “trust” and “respect” were the key elements to making a strong Strictly partnership.
He told us: “Your job as a professional is to essentially mould this person into the person that you think they should be on the screen. And if you don’t gel then they’re not going to listen to you.”
But even when Brendan hasn’t necessarily bonded closely with his partners, he usually wanted to stay in the show because of the competitive streak.
Brendan said: “You are a professional. You consider yourself to be very good at what you do, and good enough to get through week by week because of your own ability to create something that people want to watch. Even if your partner is rubbish, you should be able to get through a few weeksiminated’ because of your ability to succeed.”
He admitted: “Even when you don’t want to be there with them, and you’re relieved it’s over, there’s still the realisation that you’re not in the show any more. So you do still feel that bit of failure.”
However, there was one occasion Brendan was “absolutely delighted” to be eliminated. And that was when he was paired with Lulu.