The corporation has said it is announcing “additional steps to strengthen welfare and support” on the popular BBC series, after concerns “have arisen in recent months” that are “fundamentally about training and rehearsals”. A member of the production team will now be present “at all times” during training room rehearsals and there will be a celebrity welfare producer and a professional dancer welfare producer. Love Island star Zara McDermott, 27, has opened up about her time on the BBC One programme following the exit of her former professional partner Graziano Di Prima.
She said videos of “particular incidents” are “incredibly distressing” to watch and she was previously reluctant to speak out because she feared “public backlash” and “victim shaming”. There have also been allegations about the teaching methods of professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, which he denies. Reverend Coles, who appeared on the show in 2017, when he was partnered with Dianne Buswell, said few people involved in the show have been surprised by the allegations.
He told Times Radio: “I remember somebody who worked on the show for years and years telling me: ‘Strictly is a wonderful show with a dark heart.’ And I never really understood what that meant, but perhaps one of the things that meant is what you don’t see, which is how intensely competitive it is. “And also, I think the fact that it’s so important to the BBC, how much effort goes into maintaining the .