YouTuber George Clarke faces a potentially devastating quarter-final exit from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, as a concerning ‘jinx prophecy’ hanging over Musicals Week causes panic for the star
Kathryn Ingate Deputy Editor of Trendswatch
19:00, 06 Dec 2025
George Clarke and Alexis could be at risk(Image: BBC)
YouTuber George Clarke, 26, has emerged as a viewers’ favourite on Strictly Come Dancing this series, yet his prospects of clinching the BBC crown might hang in the balance should his mate’s bizarre ‘prophecy’ come to pass.
TikTok sensation Max Balegde, 26, who teams up with George to present The Useless Hotline podcast, has spotted some rather peculiar connections involving people from his circle popping up on reality television programmes – which could signal either triumph or disaster.
During a recent podcast episode featuring George’s professional dance partner Alexis Warr, 25, as a special guest, Max disclosed he’d grown “close” to Robert Irwin, son of the beloved late wildlife expert Steve Irwin, who subsequently claimed victory on Dancing with the Stars in America this year.
Max highlighted the strange timing of discovering Robert’s participation in the dancing contest, which coincided with George “privately” revealing his potential Strictly involvement to him before the BBC made it official.
Reflecting on his reaction to this curious coincidence, Max explained: “I was like, this is so weird, like, two people in my life… wow! This must be a sign for me, right? This must be something to do with me.
George and Max previously had Jojo Siwa as a guest on their podcast(Image: Instagram)
“So I have a theory that I’m part of a prophecy that people around me, or adjacent to me, are just going to win things. So Robert Irwin won Dancing with the Stars and I believe that that’s because of me, largely, so now it only seems right that George will go on to win Strictly. That’s my prophecy, I’ve not seen it written in stone anywhere…
“But you’ve also had friends going into different shows and they’ve not won them,” George swiftly pointed out, to which Max responded: “That’s true, but they don’t really count, because that’s not a dancing show.”
The conversation then took an unexpected twist when Max recalled his previous visit to the Strictly live audience in Blackpool, where his friend Dianne Buswell and her celebrity partner were eliminated from the competition. He confessed: “I did go to Blackpool and Dianne left the competition, so..”
A worried Alexis then asked Max: “Wait, here’s my question, when are you coming to a show?” Max revealed he would be there to cheer on George during Musicals Week, which is this weekend’s quarter-final.
George Clarke and Alexis Warr have impressed with their performances on Strictly(Image: PA)
The social media sensation joked: “If the prophecy is true, you won’t leave until I show up,” leading George to tell his unnerved mate to “never turn up”.
Alexis concurred, exclaiming: “This prophecy is scaring me,” while Max admitted he “would cry” if his attendance resulted in his friend being booted off before next weekend’s semi-final.
“It would then be your fault, by the way,” George playfully retorted, before Max confessed he was “feeling physically sick” at the prospect of his friend missing out.
Max then speculated that perhaps Robert Irwin’s victory on Dancing with the Stars was due to him not attending any of the live performances, suggesting “maybe that’s why he won”.
Working out a solution, Max concluded: “If I show up and, for whatever reason, at the point where they do the scores, I’m not speaking this into existence, but you get a below what we expect score, I’m then walking out in time for the public vote. I don’t want to be there because I will then feel like I’m the negative.
George and Alexis were worried by Max’s prophecy
“I’m scared guys! I need to counteract it with good luck charms,” he added.
George and Alexis are amongst five remaining couples poised to battle for the Glitterball trophy, alongside Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon, Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, and Lewis Cope and Katya Jones.
This evening, the couples will strive to dodge the feared dance-off and secure their place in next weekend’s semi-final by performing to tracks from celebrated musicals.
A fresh dance relay challenge has also been introduced to the quarter-final to put the remaining pairs to the test.
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight from 6.50pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
