Rylan Clark shares real reason he quit Strictly's It Takes Two amid 'swipe' at Phillip Schofield

Rylan Clark has finally addressed the real reason he quit Strictly Come Dancing's spin-off show ahead of the new season. The TV and radio star left fans gutted when he announced back in April this year that he would not be returning to It Takes Two after three years.

Rylan, 34, joined the BBC Two weekday show in 2019 as Zoe Ball's co-host before his fellow Radio 2 star left and was replaced by Strictly's former professional dancer Janette Manrara. He said at the time he was leaving his presenting role to "pass on the baton to someone else and explore what else life has for me".

"The time has come for me to pass on the baton to someone else and explore what else life has for me," he said in a statement at the time. "Thank you Strictly, you will always have my heart… and dancing feet." It has since been announced that the show will now be hosted by Janette and Fleur East, who competed in last year’s series with Vito Coppola.

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The pair made it all the way to the final of the 2022 run of the competition, which was ultimately won by wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin and professional Jowita Przystał.

Earlier this week, Janette and Fleur were seen together for the first time as they headed to shoot their promo photos and videos for It Takes Two which returns to screens days after the first live show on Monday, September 25. Meanwhile, he first Strictly 2023 show, the pre-recorded launch, airs on Saturday (September 16).

Now, months on from his announcement, Rylan has finally shared the real reason that led to him leaving the show – and revealed his agents were not impressed when he first told them of his decision. "I’ve been doing the