- Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born
April 23 ,1976 inChristchurch ,New Zealand ) is aballroom dance r specialising in Latin American dancing. He has appeared on theBBC show "Strictly Come Dancing ", a dance contest in which a professional ballroom dancer is partnered with a celebrity amateur dancer. He has also judged three seasons of New Zealand's own "Dancing with the Stars".He has danced since he was six, and came to the United Kingdom when he was nineteen. Before he danced professionally he worked as a builder.
He danced with
Camilla Dallerup , a fellow contestant on the BBC's earlier long-running show "Come Dancing ", as amateurs from 1996, and from 2002-2004 as professionals. They competed for New Zealand: Camilla Dallerup is Danish-born. In 2003 Dallerup and Cole were placed 3rd for Latin American at the UK Closed Championships. Dallerup now dances withIan Waite , who also appears on "Strictly", and Brendan has no current dance partner although during the professional group dances on Strictly Come Dancing, he danced withKaren Hardy for series 2 to 5 then with fellow New Zealander,Hayley Holt , for series 6.Prior to his dancing with
Natasha Kaplinsky , in the first series of "Strictly Come Dancing", Camilla and Brendan were engaged, but she broke it off, claiming, "I'd been with Brendan almost everyday, all the time, for more than eight years and then he changed overnight. I think he was starstruck ...everything changed because of her [Natasha Kaplinsky] ." Fact|date=October 2007In the winter of 2004 Brendan had his first acting experience featuring in the UK feature film "
Everything To Dance For " alongsideSasha Jackson , Travis Oliver and Sally Reeve.In summer 2006, he joined ITV's "
Love Island " and became the runner-up when the show ended onAugust 28 2006 .In January 2007, Brendan appeared on the
BBC 'sduet show "Just the Two of Us " as a celebrity, with Beverly Knight as his professional partner. They came second.Cole has appeared on all six series to date of "
Strictly Come Dancing ". Particularly in the third and fourth series, he has often clashed with the judges over their scoring and comments on his performances. He has on occasion deliberately broken the rules by incorporating illegal lifts into his choreography, and as a result has often been dubbed the "bad boy of "Strictly".Brendan represented the United Kingdom at the first
Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. His dance partner wasCamilla Dallerup the couple were highly praised by British judges yet only managed to finish fifteenth out of the sixteen entrants.He is currently dating Zoe Hobbs, a British model.
Televised competitions
*First place in the first season of "
Strictly Come Dancing " partnered with newsreaderNatasha Kaplinsky .
*Sixth place in second season of "Strictly Come Dancing" withSarah Manners (who plays Bex Reynolds on the television series "Casualty").
*Third place from both judges and popular vote in the "Strictly Come Dancing" Christmas Special (Champion Of Champions) again with Natasha Kaplinsky.
*Ninth place in the third series of "Strictly Come Dancing" withFiona Phillips (TV presenter onGMTV ).
*Sixth place in the fourth series of "Strictly Come Dancing" with actressClaire King .
*Withdrew from fifth series of "Strictly Come Dancing" with modelKelly Brook because Kelly's dad passed away.
*Fifteenth place in the first ever "Eurovision Dance Contest " with partnerCamilla Dallerup when representing the United Kingdom
*Currently participating in the sixth series ofStrictly Come Dancing with celebrity partner,Lisa Snowdon , aSupermodel .Charity Work
Brendan has supported several charity functions includng children's anti-bullying campaigning group
Act Against Bullying . [ [http://www.actagainstbullying.com/events/AAB%20Cup%202007.htm Untitled Document ] ]References
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/about/ BBC website for "Strictly Come Dancing"]
* [http://www.brendancole.com Brendan's website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.