EXCLUSIVE: Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Brendan Cole won the first series of the BBC show in 2004 with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, but sadly his trophy didn't survive Brendan Cole won Strictly with Natasha Kaplinsky in 2004 (Image: Comic Relief via Getty Images)

Brendan Cole admits his Strictly trophy has met a tragic fate. The former Strictly pro has been keeping it real with his hot takes on this year's series. He recently told Daily Star that the judges have become softer with their scoring and that they were more strict (pardon the pun) when he was a pro.

Brendan won the first ever series of the show back in 2004 , when he was partnered with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky. But the dancer has admitted the trophy that he took home ended up completely broken.

He told Sky

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