Strictly's Chris Robshaw breaks silence after wife hits out at 'experienced' co-stars

Former Rugby Union player, Chris Robshaw, 39, stepped out of his comfort zone when he signed up to BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, having never danced in his life – except at his wedding.

This year, many have criticised the unfair advantage in dancing experience, with stars such as Amber Davies, 28, and Lewis Cope, 30, having performed in the West End.

However, Chris' professional partner, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, thinks he has everything it takes to overcome the disadvantage. "Chris is taking all the information on board. He just needs a few more weeks to kind of get to the point, and then I think he'll be really ready to perform the way I think he can to his full abilities," she says.

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"It's the experience of knowing how to do that, which is completely new and which you can't get overnight, but I think this is what the show is about, for people who never danced before.

"We often don't get to see it because like people who don't have this experience would sometimes leave the show earlier, which is really sad because there is often so much talent in there, and it's always so nice for the audience to see it."

After the first live show last Saturday, Chris' wife Camilla took to social media to address the 'wild' difference in the contestants' dancing abilities.

"Proud forever. Up against people with years of experience when you've never even done a 2 step, opening the whole season and starting with one of the hardest dances going," she penned.

Later, she responded to a comment from Love Island star Amber Gill, 28, who penned: "Unpopular opinion: I think having people with so much dance experience is unfair."

Speaking on his wife's comment, Chris said: "I love my wife and she's my biggest supporter. She wants us to do well in the competition, and that's kind of it really."

On what he thinks of the range of dancing abilities, Chris added: "It is what it is, isn't it? In SAS you could say I was fitter than some of the other people, and then that's kind of it."

Chris was forced to pull out of Celebrity SAS with a shoulder injury – but luckily has avoided any injuries during his time on Strictly.

This series was thrown into chaos when two contestants were forced to pull out before the first live show even started.

Just days after the line-up was announced, Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn revealed he would be stepping back from the series due to unexpected medical reasons, which he said were a "high level of stress and a little bit of grief" that manifested physically.

Soon after, it was revealed that he'd be replaced byEmmerdale star Lewis Cope, who played the character Michael in the West End production of Billy Elliot: The Musical.

Then, just days before the live shows were about to start, Love Island'sDani Dyer revealed she'd been forced to pull out due to a fractured ankle.

She was replaced with former Love Islander and West End starAmber Davies, who, with just days to practiced received an impressive 27/40 in her debut dance.

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