Brendan Cole was born on 23 April 1976 and is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing.
22 Facts About Brendan Cole
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Brendan Cole is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, Strictly Come Dancing.
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Brendan Cole has danced since he was six, and moved to the United Kingdom when he was eighteen, where he studied the pasodoble, ballroom and ballet at Donaheys, Clayton, Manchester.
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Brendan Cole danced with Camilla Dallerup, a fellow contestant on the BBC's earlier long-running show Come Dancing, as amateurs from 1996, and from 2002 to 2004 as professionals.
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In 2003 Dallerup and Brendan Cole were placed 3rd for Latin American at the UK Closed Championships.
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In October 2009, Brendan Cole appeared on the New Zealand travel show Intrepid Journeys.
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In 2010, Brendan Cole married Zoe Hobbs, a British model, who gave birth to their first child, daughter Aurelia, on Christmas Day 2012.
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In January 2007, Brendan Cole appeared on the BBC's duet show Just the Two of Us as a celebrity, with Beverley Knight as his professional partner.
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Brendan Cole represented the United Kingdom at the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007.
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Brendan Cole appeared in the first 15 series BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, until announcing in January 2018 that his contract had not been renewed.
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In Series 3 Brendan Cole was then paired with GMTV presenter and newsreader Fiona Phillips.
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Brendan Cole then appeared in the 2005 Christmas Special with Rachel Hunter, dancing a Rumba.
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Brendan Cole returned to compete on the fourth series, where he partnered with actress Claire King.
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In Series 7 Brendan Cole's partner was businesswoman and media personality Jo Wood.
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Brendan Cole stepped in to partner Holly Valance and Anita Dobson during weeks 7 and 9 respectively due to their original partners being injured.
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In series 11, Brendan Cole partnered singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, reaching the final and being eliminated in fourth place.
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Brendan Cole competed with television presenter Kirsty Gallacher in the show's thirteenth series and was eliminated in week 6.
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Brendan Cole took part in the 2015 Christmas Special, where he and series 11 winner Abbey Clancy danced a waltz.
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Anastacia and Brendan Cole polled more votes than Melvin Odoom and Janette Manrara, and were allowed to stay in the competition.
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In 2017 Brendan Cole returned for the fifteenth series, paired with Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins.
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Brendan Cole took part in that year's Christmas Special, partnering Katie Derham: the couple won the event.
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Brendan Cole has supported several charity functions including children's anti-bullying campaigning group Act Against Bullying.