STRICTLY’S Luba Mushtuk is “absolutely devastated”, as the axed dancer “thought she had more time” after it was revealed she is a victim of the show’s bloodbath.
Ballroom dancer Luba, 36, was given the boot from the flagship show in a brutal cast shake-up.
It comes as a total of seven dancers were given their marching orders by BBC bosses in a the Strictly cull.
Gorka Márquez, 35, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, Neil Jones, 43, Nancy Xu, 34, and Karen Hauer, 43, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, have all lost their places on the dancefloor, alongside Luba.
Luba joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, and has been a popular member of the professional line-up ever since
That’s why she has been left “heartbroken” that she has been cut from the show.
“Luba is absolutely devastated. Strictly has been her life for years and she genuinely believed she would be back,” a source told the Express.
“She’s basically in hiding right now. She’s not answering calls, not replying to messages – she just wants to process it privately.
“This wasn’t about wrongdoing or performance. It’s a brutal reality of TV – producers refresh the cast and sometimes people who’ve done nothing wrong get cut.
“She thought she had more time. There was no long goodbye, no gradual transition just a phone call telling her she wouldn’t be needed.”
The Sun has reached out to Luba’s representatives for a comment.
Luba’s exit comes amid a dramatic behind-the-scenes shake-up, with several professional dancers axed from the long-running BBC competition.
Rumours have circulated that bosses are keen to make a fresh start to coincide with new presenters being brought in to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who quit the long-running contest last series after 11 years’ co-hosting.
Execs also want to put distance between Strictly and the string of scandals that have rocked the programme in recent years.
They include dancer Giovanni Pernice being accused of bullying his 2023 dance partner, actress Amanda Abbington, which led to a probe that exonerated him of the more serious complaints.
Also, Graziano di Prima was sacked by the BBC after he kicked Love Island’s Zara McDermott during their rehearsals on the show in 2023.
Meanwhile, yesterday it was revealed how pro dancer Michelle Tsiakkas quit the BBC show’s nationwide professionals tour after “being promised one thing but given something totally different.”
The ballroom dancer sensationally stepped down from the Strictly: The Professionals shows just days after it was revealed she had been axed from the flagship show in a brutal cast shake-up.
Michelle, who joined the hit series as a professional dancer in 2022, had been expected to perform alongside the rest of the cast on the upcoming live tour later this year.
But after the shock decision to drop her from the programme, Michelle, 30, has now also walked away from the touring production.
A pal told The Sun:“Michelle feels like she’s got a lot to process at the moment.
“She’s made a lot of personal sacrifices for the show and was in it for the long term.
“I think she feels like she was promised one thing but has been given something totally different.”
Michelle joined Strictly four years ago and appeared in the background of group numbers and professional routines before competing on the show with celebrity partner Jamie Borthwick.
Earlier this week, Michelle’s exit from the tour was made public.
In a statement, the tour organisers said: “Michelle Tsiakkas has decided not to take part in Strictly The Professionals 2026 Tour.
“We are naturally disappointed but respect her decision and wish her every success for the future.”
