Strictly Come Dancing's AJ Pritchard quits acting after Hollyoaks backlash

ok.co.uk:

It seems it's 'once bitten, twice shy' for ex-professional Strictly dancer AJ Pritchard as he confirms that he's done with acting.The 28-year-old joined his big brother Curtis Pritchard, who was also a dancer on Strictly, for a nine episodes on Hollyoaks in 2021 but it seems that once was quite enough for the blonde star.The sibling pair starred as dancer brothers Marco and Jacob but their appearance was marred by criticism from various soap actors who were adamant that casting should be selected based on talent and not social media followers.

Former EastEnders actor Michael Greco had plenty to say on the matter and called AJ's acting "shocking", claiming that people could learn "how not to act" by watching the brothers on-screen.

Others were also quick to jump on the vicious bandwagon, with Parry Glasspool who plated Harry Thompson on the Channel 4 soap from 2013 to 2019 reached for his Instagram stories at the time to comment: "As if budding actors didn't struggle enough, now they have to compete with folks with zero interest in acting, but have s*** tone of followers. "No offence for those who can hustle, but sucks for those trying to catch a break." Luckily, AJ walks away from the slating unscathed, insisting that he "enjoyed" his experience on set but it's just not for him, Speaking to the Daily Star's Hot TV column, he said: "Hollyoaks were so happy with everything.That's all that matters. "I enjoyed it but I feel like acting isn't my forte." The star, who also enjoyed time in the jungle as an I'm a Celeb contestant, has plenty of other plans in the pipeline and opportunities to keep him busy.