Delve into the backgrounds of Strictly professionals and it becomes clear ballroom and Latin American dancing isn't for the faint hearted. Several stars from the show have lifted the lid on the profession, revealing just how much they sacrificed and endured to reach the top. The BBC primetime programme is currently facing its biggest crisis in 20 years, in the wake of serious allegations made against several of its professionals.
Giovanni Pernice and Graziano di Parma were both dropped from this year's upcoming show following allegations of mistreatment of their celebrity matches last time around. Actress Amanda Abbington was partnered with Giovanni, 33, but quit the show after five weeks, going onto request footage of their training. Graziano, 30, was let go on July 13 this year following claims made by staff investigating his behaviour towards Zara McDermott .
Graziano took to his Instagram page to share a statement, saying he 'deeply regrets the events that led to my departure'. He added: "When the time is right, I will share my story." Giovanni has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.
This week, Paralympian Will Bayley claimed Strictly rehearsals left him with a 'horrific' injury he will never recover from. Will, who was forced to withdraw from Strictly after six weeks in 2019, said he 'didn't have an issue' with his pro partner Janette Manrara, but criticised the pressure the dancers allegedly came under from show producers. Brendan Cole, an ex-Strictly dancer who won the first very series of the show back in 2004 with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsk, also came under fire this week after footage emerged of his 2005 partner Fiona Phillips bursting into tears after she rehearsed with him.
The pair exited the series in week four of the show. Highlighting the gruelling training it takes to make it big in ballroom dancing, Brendan previously claimed one of his dance teachers in the UK would deliberately strike him . "My instructor used to hit me on purpose," said the 48-year-old.
"He used to dig his nails into my back." Joanne Clifton is another pro dancer who has lifted the Glitterball Trophy, this time with presenter Ore Oduba in 2016. She was a student at Italy's prestigious Team Diablo academy, which has 11,000 members, and claims she was hospitalised after feeling pressure from her fellow pupils to stay slim.
"The problem was there were too many dancers including me who thought being skinny was good ," she said. "As well as doing my best to limit my intake of pizza and pasta, and drinking up to ten espressos a day I cut out meat, which led to me being hospitalised with anaemia. "That feeling of low energy was horrendous and impacted on my training.
For a period of four months, I remember collapsing unexplainably — my body was telling me to change something." A BBC Panorama and File On 4 investigation in September last year claimed ex-pupils of both The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School had described a long-running 'toxic' culture at the top institutions. The BBC spoke to more than 50 former students who studied at the schools between 2004 and 2022, with claims including body shaming and bullying by teachers.
A common theme of the allegations was pupils being encouraged to lose weight, often leading to eating disorders. In a statement, the Royal Ballet School told the programme that nothing was more important than the 'happiness and continued wellbeing' of its students, saying it is 'continuously improving and innovating' in order to protect their health and welfare. Elmhurst said it promotes 'good physical and mental health', acting whenever 'issues are identified'.
Ellen Elphick alleged she had been positioned in front of a mirror by her teacher at the Royal Ballet School, where prima ballerina turned Strictly judge Dame Darcey Bussell trained, before being body shamed. She claimed: "She said to me: 'If I had a knife, this is what I would cut off'," said the former pupil, who developed an eating disorder. "And she literally cut my entire bum off.
" At the Team Diablo dance school in Bologna, Northern Italy, students practice for up to 12 hours a day with special diets, trainers and masseurs. "Unlike the UK, in Italy there's a club system for dancing, with a coach who manages every part of your training," said Joanne Clifton , who was crowned European Professional Ballroom champion in 2014. "So on top of endless hours of stretching and training, our diet was regulated.
I wasn't anorexic but I was obviously too thin." Giovanni also attended the school, moving 800 miles away from his family in Sicily to further his talent when he was just 14. "It was hard as I was just a boy and without my family by my side every day, I felt as if I lost 50 per cent of my strength," said the professional dancer, who won Strictly in 2021 with EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis.
"At first there were times where I did cry on the phone to my mamma." Graziano, 30, was a fellow pupil at the institution and also moved from Sicily to pursue his dreams. Monica Cinti, secretary to the director at the school, told The Sun : "Teaching methods are not harsh but require serious preparation.
Here, we create world champions. In the last three to four years, we have had a boom in members and world champions." Team Diablo, The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School have been approached for further comment.
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