Zara McDermott has said she “wrestled with the fear of opening up” about her time on Strictly Come Dancing because she feared “public backlash” and “victim shaming”, following her former professional partner Graziano Di Prima’s exit from the show. It was confirmed at the weekend that the Italian dancer is no longer part of the 2024 professional line-up and Di Prima has said his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected” his training regime. Advertisement Former Love Island star and documentary maker McDermott, who was paired with Di Prima in the most recent series, said in a statement she feared the public’s response when talking about her time on the show.
She wrote on Instagram: “So much of my Strictly experience was everything I could have dreamed of. Advertisement “The entire production team and everyone behind the scenes as well as my fellow contestants were so amazing to work with. Advertisement Graziano Di Prima was partnered with Zara McDermott on the most recent series of Strictly (Guy Levy/BBC) “However, my experience inside the training room was very different.
Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch. “I have wrestled with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming. “But after a lot of conversations .