28 February 2023 , 12:55
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When Strictly Come Dancing launched in 2004, journalist Natasha Kaplinsky was one of the first to be roped in.
Then at BBC Breakfast, the glamorous star desperately didn't want to take part in the first ever series, claiming she was pushed into it by the broadcaster.
"I'd just started at BBC Breakfast and obviously the bosses at Strictly had a shopping list and a newsreader was on it and I was their easiest target," she previously told The Mirror.
"I honestly tried every single excuse not to do it, but I was cajoled and in the end I ran out of excuses. I was absolutely petrified."
Romance rumours flew between Brendan Cole and Natasha Kaplinski (BBC)Explaining that she feared the un-tested show could derail her career, and that she hated being the centre of attention, Natasha, 50, continued: "I worked very hard to get to the BBC and I felt really concerned that Strictly Come Dancing was going to change how people would perceive me and to a certain degree it did.
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"I felt very self-conscious about putting on sequinned clothes and performing, because that wasn't my job.
"My job wasn't about me, it was about the news, so to suddenly put myself in the middle of the dance floor on a Saturday night was insane – I was the most nervous I have ever been in my life."
As it turned out Natasha was right to feel anxious.
Brendan and Natasha shared an electric chemistry on the dancefloor (Press Association)
Brendan was engaged to Camilla Dallerup at the time (Nicholas Bowman/Sunday Mirror)Within weeks viewers were commenting on the chemistry between her and dance partner Brendan Cole and it wasn't long before rumours of an affair began - claims both have always denied.
At the time, Brendan was engaged to fellow Strictly professional Camilla Dallerup, who he had been with for eight years.
He said Camilla was the one to end things when she and antiques expert David Dickinson were voted off the show.
He said: "Camilla left me three weeks into the show, the night she got kicked off.
"I still remember, she stood there in the line-up and it gets down to Camilla and myself. Her and David Dickinson, and myself and Kaplinsky.
"They announced that we were safe and Camilla and David were leaving. And, you know, your natural reaction to news like that is you go like, you know, we're safe. She took that as, 'you unsupportive so-and-so.'"
Camilla was devastated, and more than a decade later she opened up about the lasting pain, telling The Mirror that the episode left her feeling 'broken'.
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"To this day I have no idea whether it was her fame and celebrity that swept him away or if he really did feel a strong connection with her," she said in 2015.
"I'm guessing it was probably a bit of both. What was really hurtful was not just that Brendan appeared to have forgotten he was engaged, the entire nation seem to have forgotten he was engaged."
Natasha later revealed that she hadn't even wanted to take part (BBC)From sharing a flat, mobile phone and even a single email address, the couple became estranged practically overnight.
Recalling the 'shame and humiliation' of watching Brendan congratulate Natasha after a dance by kissing her on the lips, Camilla said she was worried about the pairing from the outset.
She said: "We were introduced to our respective partners. Brendan was over the moon. He literally skipped through the door when he came home and that was the moment I lost Brendan.
"We normally shared every thought, every little thing but suddenly his thoughts were elsewhere.
"I had this terrible foreboding something awful was about to happen."
Natasha's career continued to rise after the showCamilla moved out of their shared flat as rumours began to circulate about Natasha and Brendan – who went on to win the show.
Years later, Brendan admitted that 'something' did happen, but insisted it was never an affair.
Revealing how he and Natasha became 'extremely close', he said: "The chemistry was there, plain for all to see."
But he added: "I didn't have an affair. Camilla chose to leave. Once you do something, after that it's not an affair."
Reaffirming that he 'didn't cross any lines' with Natasha, Brendan - who is now married to model Zoe Hobbs - hinted that whatever they had on the show turned out not to be real.
Natasha Kaplinsky is now married to Justin Bower (Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)"What I did learn is that Strictly is not reality. It's a television show where emotions are very much heightened," he told the Daily Mail.
"It's a unique situation and a fantastic show to be part of, but when you take it away, life just goes back to normal.
"It was a harrowing time - winning the show as much as my friendship with Natasha. On the other hand it was like, 'Holy Moses. It can ruin a marriage so easily.'"
As for Natasha's take on their bond, the mother-of-two brutally admitted that while there might have been a superficial attraction, it was never more than skin deep.
Brendan pictured with wife Zoe Cole (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Camilla is married to Hollyoaks star Kevin Sacre (Corbis via Getty Images)"There was chemistry, of course, and I certainly fell in love with dancing, but I did not fall in love with Brendan," she explained at the time.
Just a few years after Strictly she became the highest paid newsreader in the country when she was poached from the BBC by 5 News with a record-breaking £1million contract.
Natasha tied the knot with with private equity professional Justin Bower a year after being paired with Brendan on the show. The couple share two children together.