After weathering the storm of the 'abuse' scandal, Strictly Come Dancing has been hit with several more devastating blows. Some of this year's contestants have been forced to pull out of the BBC series due to illness, and now the latest to have fallen victim is Nadiya Bychkova, who suffered a freak accident on Wednesday. While she no longer has a celebrity partner, she still takes part in the group professional dances; however, she will now have to sit some scenes out.
Welsh professional Amy Dowden will also be missing from the dancefloor this weekend, after she collapsed backstage following her foxtrot performance with partner JB Gill. The star, who had the all-clear after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and also struggles with Crohn's Disease, could be forced to quit the series, according to a source. Strictly rules state each contestant is only allowed to miss one week through illness or injury before having to retire.
The latest drama comes after former professional Giovanni Pernice was dropped from the 20th anniversary series after his 2023 partner Amanda Abbington accused him of "bullying" and "aggressive behaviour" - which he strongly denied. The results of the BBC's internal investigation were released just weeks ago, with the broadcaster ruling that Giovanni was not physically abusive, but complaints about verbal bullying and harassment were upheld. Out of up to 17 allegations against him, six were upheld.
The BBC apologised to Amanda and thanked her for coming f.
