PLANS may be underway to mark the 20th anniversary of the BBC juggernaut, but as Strictly Come Dancing goes spinning deeper into crisis, insiders now fear that the wheels are coming dangerously close to coming off for good.
Within six tumultuous months, two professional dancers have been sacked following allegations of bullying. An investigation has been launched to examine a string of complaints filed by previous celebrity dancers. In the latest probe, a third male professional dancer has been identified as a ‘person of interest.” A female professional dancer has now come forward to lodge a grievance against the show and the news has leaked that bosses are now struggling to sign up female contestants for the new series.
Here we pull back the curtain on Strictly’s hardest dance to date.
The Giovanni Scandal
4
In May it was revealed that Italian professional Giovanni Pernice had quit the show after the BBC had launched an internal investigation following complaints from three former partners.
Since his partnership with actress Amanda Abbington, 50, came to an abrupt end when she walked out of the show last October, questions have been raised about his conduct. Then in January this year, Amanda was diagnosed with PTSD, which she put down to Giovanni’s reign of terror in the rehearsal room. She then demanded that footage of their rehearsals be brought under the microscope. The BBC initially backed Gio, until it came to light that two of his former partners, presenters, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh had filed complaints which had failed to be taken seriously. It is then revealed that other complainants have come forward and lawyers have been instructed, plunging the beeb into a nightmare situation.
Last week the news was announced that that fan favourite and former Strictly pro Aljaz Skorjanec,34, has been brought back into the fold for the new series to help restore faith in the show. It is thought that he will replace Gio for the 20th anniversary celebration show.
Graziano Di Prima sacked
4
At the weekend, Graziano Di Prima was sacked from the BBC show after footage emerged of him kicking and spitting at his dance partner, Zara McDermott during rehearsals last year. In a statement Di Prima said he “deeply regrets” the events that led to his departure, and that his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime”.
McDermott, a documentary presenter and former Love Island contestant, posted a statement saying she was involved in incidents in the training room that she found “incredibly distressing” to watch back. On Tuesday the BBC announced that Strictly’s professional dancers would no longer be left on their own with contestants during rehearsals and a team of welfare producers would now be on hand to stamp out wrongdoing.
Nadia Bychkova hits out
4
Earlier this week it emerged that professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova has recently met with BBC bosses to air her grievances. The Ukrainian dancer has recently split with her boyfriend of two years, fellow professional dancer Kai Widdrington. But according to newspaper reports, the 34-year-old has an axe to grind and was keen to get some complaints off her chest.
A source told The Mail: “Nadiya got in touch out of the blue and wanted to talk to the bosses. They are taking every single murmur of a complaint seriously now so she was immediately asked in. She has been on the show for some years so will have seen and lot and possibly also experienced unpleasant behaviour, she will have worked with many people.
“Things really are getting serious now, it is a mess and it is getting worse by the day.” Meanwhile a third male professional dancer has been identified as a ‘person of interest’ in the ongoing probe. Although said person is no longer part of the show, he name has been forwarded to the legal team at Carter and Ruck.
No female celeb sign ups
4
As the sackings cast their shadow, BBC bigwigs are said to be locked in crisis meetings a they struggle to sign up female celebrities for the forthcoming series.
Insiders have said that it’s been more challenging that ever to get famous faces to sign up to the show, despite it being Strictly’s 20th anniversary.
“Usually it is the women who are more keen,” a television executive reportedly told the Mail.
Not only is it an opportunity to get dressed up but appearing on Strictly is also much more fortuitous for females’ careers than men’s.
“But word has got around that it isn’t exactly a walk in the park, so getting them ha
Normally at this point in the showbiz calendar, celebrity names would usually have been leaked into the public.
Instead, the line-up for the upcoming series seems to be a closely guarded secret, as bosses rush to put in place a series of drastic safety measures to safeguard future contestant.
In a move to reassure future contestants, yesterday Strictly bosses announced drastic measures to safeguard contestants.