Strictly star expelled for violence at 17: Now I’m a dancer, not a fighter
I regret it & I’ve changed says Cam
I reacted in the wrong way, I was a schoolkid and I’ve grown up since then... CAMERON LOMBARD TALKING ABOUT HIS ATTACK SHAME
A NEW Strictly star was kicked out of school over violence against a fellow pupil just three years ago.
Cameron Lombard, 20, was launched by the BBC in a blaze of publicity last Monday. But viewers were not told of his violent past in his native South Africa.
The attack – when he was 17 – was filmed by classmates and shared more than 1,000 times on social media.
Latin dance champion Cameron last night spoke to the Sunday Mirror about the incident, telling us: “I have learned from it and would react differently now. That’s not who I am, I’m a dancer, I’m not a fighter.”
He claimed he had retaliated after an attack against him the day before, adding: “I reacted in completely the wrong way, and I realise that and regret it.
“I was a schoolchild when this happened and I’ve grown up a lot since then.”
Cameron – who was a finalist in South Africa’s Got Talent in 2012 with dance partner Donlynn Fischer – was expelled from Cape Town’s
South Peninsula High School in February 2018. Police were called after the clash on school grounds.
The teen student told a South African newspaper he did nothing to warrant the attack, in which he was repeatedly hit and kicked.
DEVASTATED
His mum said he spent the next day in bed as he was “too weak” for school.
A friend of Cameron’s told us: “The police were contacted but no charges were upheld and instead the boys resolved it between themselves.
Cameron was expelled, which he was devastated about, but he finished his studies in another school.
“After that he opened his own dance school.”
Former dance teacher Kim Isaacs, 39, said: “Cameron is dedicated to dance and never missed a single lesson in 15 years. Whatever went on in his life he would never miss a lesson and would walk over broken glass to get here.
“He told me that one day he’d fly away and become rich and famous. He just became a stronger dancer and better dancer – you could see it. Cameron sorted himself out through dance.”
Other newcomers on Strictly are former Dancing With The Stars Ireland professional Kai Widdrington, former Let’s Dance Germany professional Nikita Kuzmin and Greatest Dancer champ Jowita Przystal. The show, watched by 13 million, is back on BBC1 next month. Strictly has had its share of controversies down the years. New judge Anton Du Beke used a racial slur to describe his partner Laila Rouass, 50, during an off-air conversation in 2009.
While Anton, 55, insisted it was backstage “banter”, he issued an unreserved apology.
The same year, Arlene Phillips – then 66 – was axed as a judge and replaced by thenchampion Alesha Dixon, 36 years her junior.
It triggered an ageism backlash and was even raised in the Commons by then deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman.