A STRICTLY star has sensationally quit his hit podcast after more than three years.
, who appeared on Strictly last year, and fellow star Max Balegde have hosted The Useless Hotline together since November 2022.
Strictly star George Clarke and his TikTok pal and podcast co-host Max Balegde have quit The Useless Podcast Credit: Instagram/theuselesshotlinepod
George starred in the most recent series of Strictly Credit: BBC
The podcast hosts have left their fans devastated by the news of their show coming to an end.
Taking to social media on Sunday night, they penned: “After 3 and a half years of laughs, stupid fights and iconic interviews, the final episode of The Useless Hotline is out now.
“What started as a random idea turned into something way bigger than we could have both dreamed of and a community we’ll never forget.
“Thank you for every listen, share, comment, ticket bought, letter or gift – the support means more than you’ll ever know.
Max spoke out about ‘staying quiet’ after the podcast was revealed to be coming to an end Credit: TikTok@max_balegde
George Clarke was a runner up and joint second place of Strictly Come Dancing 2025 Credit: Getty
“We will never forget all of our Useless Interns. Max and George”
Fans flocked to the comment section in sheer devastation.
One penned: “End of an Era – well done for everything you built, proud as ever!”
While another said: “I’m now in mourning – WHAT!?!”
Max then took to TikTok to speak out about the podcast ending, with him even dropping a cryptic comment about why they are “staying quiet”.
“This project has been my literal dream come true. I came up with the idea for the Useless Hotline podcast about maybe five years ago, and then I met George and everything clicked,” he explained.
Max added: “We have always ran our podcast independently, so all the business side of everything, we’ve done it ourselves.
“And it’s been really challenging, really challenging over the years.
“The lessons that I’ve learned, you know, will, will stay with me for the rest of my life.
“You’ve got to be able to trust the people around you.
“You need to be able to rely on each other, and it’s hard,” he went on.
Max then said how they have been putting out weekly podcasts for almost 6 years, saying “it’s not been a big moneymaking project”.
Max reflected on the travelling they had done because of the podcast, adding: “We just got off a huge Australia and New Zealand tour, and it just felt like the right time to end on a high.”
He then went on to thank everyone involved before thanking the fans and signing off.
In the comment section, someone asked: “Ok, now that’s done, can you please tell us what happened with Calum?
“He was absolutely awesome and the fact that none of you said thanks is a real shame.”
In early 2025, Calum announced he was moving on from his role as a producer to focus on freelance projects and content creation.
Max replied to the fan’s question, writing: :Respectfully, you don’t know him, and if you knew what happened you wouldn’t feel this way.
“We have stayed quiet because we are handling things through the legal system.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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