Brooke Scullion's former partner left Dancing with the Stars due to 'personal problem'

Brooke is currently top of the leaderboard

Brooke Scullion's dance partner Maurizio Benenato has left the show. Picture: Kyran O’Brien/kobpix 

Dancing with the Stars front runner Brooke Scullion will be dancing with a new partner tonight as pro Maurizio Benenato has left the show after three weeks.

The dancer released a statement on his Instagram account today revealing he had returned to his native Italy “due to a personal problem”.

Brooke and Maurizio are currently top of the leaderboard after opening the new series of the show with a history-making score of 25, the highest ever achieved for a first dance in the show’s history.

Tonight the pair were due to dance the notoriously difficult Rumba to Anne Marie's 2002.

Brooke Scullion was paired up with Maurizo Benenato

In a video posted to his Instagram earlier today, Maurizio said he returned to Italy on Saturday to deal with a personal problem and unfortunately was now automatically "out of the show".

It's really sad," he said, "you can't imagine how I feel. But, it is what it is."

He wished all of the contestants the best of luck, in particular, his partner Brooke who he said was "amazing".

Brooke and RTÉ are yet to comment on the development.

Tonight's show will feature the first elimination since the new series began earlier this month.