Why has Pasha Kovalev left Strictly Come Dancing?

Strictly Come Dancing fans are in mourning after professional dancer Pasha Kovalev announced he will be leaving the show after eight years.

The Russian-born pro shared the news this morning, saying that “after eight fantastic years, full of wonderful memories” it was time “to find a new challenge”.

The BBC’s official Strictly Twitter account shared a response thanking Kovalev for his “amazing choreography”, adding that he would be “sorely missed”.

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A viewer favourite, Kovalev joined the show for series nine in 2011 as the celebrity partner to Waterloo Road actress Chelsee Healey. The pair made the final, but lost out on the glitterball trophy to McFly’s Harry Judd and pro Aliona Vilani.

After finishing as a runner-up the following year with Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, Kovalev finally got a chance to lift the trophy in series 12 with TV host Caroline Flack.

Although he once again made the final last year, partnered with Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts, their success was marred by “backlash due to Roberts's past dance experience”, says the BBC, and Kovalev was forced to come to her defence in the press.

Some fans speculated that Kovalev’s departure might be a sign he is preparing to start a family with Countdown number whiz Rachel Riley, his partner of four years. The pair met as dance partners on the show in series 11.

In an interview last year, she played down rumours that pregnancy was on the horizon, telling the Mail on Sunday magazine that it was “currently not on my radar”.

However, she added: “I don't know about the future.”

Whatever the reasons for Kovalev’s decision, there are clearly no hard feelings between him and the Strictly family.

The 39-year-old will be one of the dancers taking part in the Strictly: The Professionals tour this spring, alongside fellow pros Katya Jones, AJ Pritchard, Giovanni Pernice, Oti Mabuse, Dianne Buswell, Karen Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones and Gorka Marquez.