Strictly Come Dancing may soon run out of male professional dancers after the dramatic exits of Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice.

The BBC series is experiencing a noticeable lack of male talent after the Italian dancers sensationally left the show following reports of tension with their former celebrity dance partners Zara McDermott and Amanda Abbington.

To make matters worse, some of Strictly’s most memorable male dancers have quit or been moved to the judging panel in recent years.

After the dramatic departures of Graziano and Giovanni, only seven men remain; Carlos Gu, Gorka Marquez, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzim, Vito Coppola and Aljaz Skorjanec who is returning after a two-year break.

The gender imbalance is stark as the show will have ten female pro dancers on its books with the return of Amy Dowden for the upcoming 20th annivesary series.

Strictly Come Dancing may soon run out of male professional dancers after the dramatic exits of Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice

It was announced on July 9 that Aljaz Skorjanec is returning to Strictly after it was confirmed Giovanni would no longer be part of the line-up

Unless more male dancers are brought in to even things out, securing female celebrity talent for the upcoming series may prove difficult.

Some of the most recent men to quit the dancefloor including Anton Du Beke, Kevin Clifton and AJ Pritchard.

After being with the show since series one, Anton joined the judging panel for series 19 in 2021 and has remained there since.

Kevin Clifton quit the show after the 2019 to pursue a career in musical theatre.

It ended up being a case of bad timing however as the Covid-19 pandemic caused theatres around the country to shut only a few months later.

Kevin later admitted it was ‘difficult’ to watch the BBC show the following year with him no longer being there.

He told The Huffington Post: ‘Strictly Ballroom was sort of the catalyst, but to be honest, I’d been talking to [Strictly Come Dancing] about leaving for about a year’ with the star saying he had done ‘everything’ he could possibly do on the show.’

The show suffered another blow in 2020 when AJ Pritchard quit after four years to become a TV presenter alongside his brother Curtis.

‘AJ would like to thank the team at Strictly and everyone at the BBC for giving him such a brilliant opportunity.

‘AJ would also like to send his love and gratitude to all who have followed and supported his career.

‘He is excited for you all to join him on the next chapter of his journey.’

Luckily, Strictly still has some stalwart male dancers they can count on for the upcoming series.

Gorka Marquez is the longest serving male pro at present, having been with Strictly for an impressive nine series.

Johannes Radebe and Neil Jones have both been part of the show for the last six series, Kai Widdrington for four and Carlos Gu and Vito Coppola for three.

It was announced on July 9 that Aljaz Skorjanec is returning to Strictly after it was confirmed Giovanni would no longer be part of the line-up.

Aljaz, 34, who welcomed a daughter Lyra with his partner Janette Manrara in July last year, said he hoped to make the one-year-old proud following his two year hiatus from the BBC show.

Appearing on The One Show, he said: ‘I could not be more ecstatic to be back with the Strictly family! This year is such a special one for this legendary show, I can’t wait to be a part of it and make my return to the dancefloor.’