Strictly Come Dancing’s Karen Clifton has hit out at speculation that she was behind Will Young’s decision to quit the show.

The professional dancer said it was a “shame certain press have to sour what was a great time for me and Will that sadly came to an end” in a post on Twitter.

Singer Will, 37, announced he was pulling out of the popular BBC programme earlier this week.

On Thursday Karen revealed she is getting back to work with a silent video message in which she flaunted her Pilates skills, a smile on her face.

Along with the Instagram post, her first since Will’s decision to quit the show, she wrote: “Back to the grind … Pilates always does the job … still learning, still pushing, staying positive x.”

The Pop Idol winner’s exit came after veteran judge Len Goodman told him to “turn up, keep up, shut up” at the weekend.

Karen Clifton and Will Young
Will and Karen (Jay Brooks/BBC)

In a text to the Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday morning, read out by DJ Chris Evans, Will said the reasons for his departure were “all very undramatic”.

He sparked speculation about the reasons behind his exit when he told fans that he had withdrawn from the competition for “personal reasons”.

The singer said he left with “joy in my heart that I have been able to take part in one of the most-loved shows on British television”.