Will Bailey has urged Strictly Come Dancing bosses to make changes to their care policy after his own experience led him to feel dismissed and even depressed at a difficult time. As he prepares to represent the Paralympics GB team in the table tennis events at Paris' Olympic Games , the Paralympic athlete has spoken out amid the escalating crisis around the BBC One programme during recent press chats. The 36-year-old competed in the show back in 2019, with professional partner Janette Manrara , but he was forced to withdraw when he sustained an injury after jumping off a table during a rehearsal.
With reports of misconduct behind the scenes continuing to emerge, casting a dark cloud over the show's 20th anniversary, Will has recalled his own experience and called producers out again on This Morning , live from Slovenia. Speaking to Alison Hammond and Joel Dommett this Tuesday, Will first insisted he had no hard feelings with former dance partner Janette Manrara as he said about his overall Strictly stint: "I felt like I was in a dream, I felt so grateful and so honoured." But he eventually had to open up about his injury, saying: "We were practicing the dance and it was my favourite dance.
I was Casper the friendly ghost and it was a jive." Remembering that he knew all along he would need to perform an ambitious jump during his routine, he then added: "I jumped off the table during dress rehearsal and that's when the accident happened. Obviously it was traumatic for me.
" While his recovery was made difficult by the intense scrutiny he was under, Will stated that the lack of care he'd received moments after his fall had also left him shocked. He recalled being taken to a hotel room following his fall, where he was handed an ice pack and left to his own devices. Years after the incident, he believed he should have been taken to hospital.
"I was grateful they covered for my surgery", he said, "I just felt like there wasn't a lot of communication after the surgery, it was just like: 'get on with the recovery.' I felt like they could have been more there. Immediately after my fall, I did go to a hotel room and I got ice put onto my knee and I just felt like: 'if that was my daughter or something, I'd get her to hospital and checked out straight away'.
" He went on: "I had to sit there all night, and I was calling my mum. I'm not a baby, I'm an adult but I was put into a big situation, under a lot of stress. I feel like that probably wasn't the best move.
That's just my opinion." "Any good corporation would learn from these sort of mistakes", he then firmly claimed in reference to the growing number of complaints targeting Strictly dancers, from Graziano Di Prima to Giovanni Pernice . Will concluded: "Injuries happen but mine could have been avoided with the right care.
" This comes after Janette, who joined Strictly's professional ranks in 2013, broke her own silence around the Strictly crisis as Will's claims threw her into the spotlight. A spokeswoman for Janette said in a statement: "Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice. "Her celebrity partner’s safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly.
Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will." Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads ..
