For 20 years it has been the weekly glitzy Saturday night extravaganza which warms the hearts of its viewers in the run-up to Christmas.
Millions follow the fortunes of the celebrities paired with professional dancers as they compete for the fabled glitterball trophy.
In recent weeks, however, it has become clear that there is more to Strictly than sequins and stardust. The BBC’s most popular Saturday night programme since The Generation Game is engulfed in scandal, with multiple stars accusing their dance partners of abuse and bullying.
No fewer than eight former contestants have come forward to share details of their alleged ordeals and the scale of the controversy is now threatening the very existence of the Beeb’s flagship show. So which of the unfolding scandals are serious enough to end its 20-year reign, and which are simply sob stories from snowflakes jumping on a bandwagon which is careering out of control?
Graziano Di Prima and Zara McDermott
When I discovered Graziano had been sacked for hitting and kicking Zara, my first thought was surely it couldn’t be true. But there was video evidence of his behaviour and, within an hour of the Mail breaking the story, he had posted an apology on Instagram. The incident took place last autumn. In the first instance, the BBC was made aware of two incidents involving Graziano verbally abusing Zara during training, but it didn’t regard them as serious enough to merit any disciplinary action.
However, after seeing footage of the physical assault for themselves, BBC bosses privately shared their anger at Graziano with me, using words such as ‘abhorrent’ and ‘disgraceful’ to describe his actions.
It has been revealed that pro dancer Graziano Di Prima hit and kicked Zara McDermott during rehearsals last year
Of all the scandals, this is the one which could sound the death knell for Strictly, which is why bosses terminated their relationship with Graziano so swiftly in a bid to make sure none of the cast of the forthcoming season would be put at risk.
Questions were raised over why Zara, a Love Island star and documentary presenter, didn’t speak up at the time, according to production staff, particularly from Graziano and his team.
The answer is she feared a backlash which would ruin her Strictly experience, a role she had dreamed of since she was a little girl and perhaps impact her relationship with the BBC to make more programmes.
Scandal factor: 5/5
Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice
Cha-cha-change the record . . . Am I the only person to have got bored of this particular story?
Eight months and counting, and Amanda Abbington is still yet to tell us exactly what Giovanni Pernice did to her apart from tread on her foot (a well-worn Strictly hazard) and bruise her toe. She’s also claimed her Strictly experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Last weekend, she told a newspaper that he was cruel, mean and abusive but didn’t describe any actual events. This lack of detail is something the BBC’s HR department has also been struggling with since their investigation into her claims began in April.
Giovanni concedes that he is a hard taskmaster but insists he wasn’t abusive, Abbington’s refusal to expand on her account, I’m told, has irritated BBC bosses who have spent many man hours trying to get to the bottom of what Giovanni is supposed to have done. There is no evidence to back up her accusation that he bullied her, with one source saying: ‘[The inquiry] is evidence-led and there is nothing.’
Amanda Abbington is still yet to tell us exactly what Giovanni Pernice did to her during training apart from tread on her foot, but told Katie Hind in May that she hated taking part in the show
Amanda told me in May that she hated taking part in the show. Now, with her constant newspaper briefings and moaning to friends over her treatment, she appears intent on getting her revenge.
Last night she claimed in an interview with Channel 4 News that she was a victim of ‘humiliating’ behaviour of a sexual nature at the hands of Giovanni. He profusely denies this and said that it wasn’t presented to him in the list of allegations she has given to the Corporation.
BBC bosses are both furious at her endless attacks and baffled by why she is discussing the inquiry before its conclusion. They believe she is angling for a direct apology from director-general Tim Davie.
In terms of muck-slinging, this case takes the glitterball.
Scandal factor: 2
James Jordan and Georgina Bouzova
In May 2014 I revealed that James Jordan had been sacked from Strictly after eight years. It didn’t come as a surprise to me because I had heard he had a temper and could be aggressive.
So when the video of him rehearsing with the adorable former Casualty actress Georgina Bouzova re‑emerged last week, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Shouting and swearing into the camera, he said he was going to ‘kill her’ and ‘drag her across the floor’ if she couldn’t stand on her left leg. In another clip which was — astonishingly — aired on Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two, he also told her to lose weight and banned her from eating chocolate.
While the latter may not be the crime of the century, James’s abusive manner towards her has embarrassed some BBC bosses who were on the show at the time. One tells me: ‘Everyone knew James was an a******e, so there were some questions asked about why he wasn’t dealt with at the time and why he wasn’t got rid of sooner.’
Those were different times, of course. Behaviour that was considered acceptable then is no longer tolerated in our more woke world.
James has said he strongly condemns ‘bullying or abusiveness in the workplace’, and described the compilation clip on It Takes Two as ‘a highly produced and exaggerated VT’ made by the team ‘for the purposes of entertainment’.
Friends of James say that he had high standards and that his behaviour got the best out of people.
Maybe they’re right, but I’d send him home in the dance-off.
Scandal factor: 4
In footage aired first in 2006, James Jordan could be heard saying to Georgina Bouzova he was going to ‘kill her’ and ‘drag her across the floor’ if she couldn’t stand on her left leg
Nadiya Bychkova
Well, she certainly picked her timing! Just days after it was revealed Graziano had been fired, Nadiya made contact with Strictly producers to tell them she wanted to make a complaint.
I can’t divulge exactly what her gripe was for legal reasons, but it follows her recent split from Kai Widdrington, another pro dancer.
The BBC batted away questions by insisting it was a personal issue. But Nadiya’s intervention has sparked a debate over workplace romances, which are increasingly deemed improper.
Sources at the BBC say of her complaint: ‘It was listened to but it was decided it wasn’t really their problem. But we are all wondering whether she would have come forward if the floodgates hadn’t opened. The answer is possibly not.’
Meanwhile, bosses are now on their guard for escalating tensions between Nadiya and Kai, who split in June after 18 months together, as they face working together on the upcoming Strictly series.
I’m told that it may mean issuing a warning to the professionals about forming relationships with fellow dancers as they have the potential to ‘create negative situations’ for Strictly and the BBC. Boring!
This case is unlikely to reach Abbington proportions, however.
Scandal factor: 2
Ola Jordan and Steve Backshall
At the weekend, it emerged that the wildlife presenter complained to the BBC that Ola Jordan bullied him when he appeared on the show ten years ago. Her crimes? She was ‘cold, rude and tough’.
He lodged a complaint after finding her ‘rude and impatient’ and she undermined his confidence when he struggled to master the Charleston.
Oh, diddums. For clarity, Steve is 6ft tall and made his name as an ‘explorer’. He has bulging biceps and a six-pack. Ola, meanwhile, is 5ft 2in and, as she was born and brought up in Poland, there could have been something of a language barrier.
Strictly bosses called Ola in for a meeting and agreed that she and Steve would be accompanied by chaperones at all times during the remainder of the competition.
While it was taken seriously back then, there were, I’m told, some guffaws from staff who thought that Steve needed to, I quote, ‘grow a pair’. Today, some connected with the show find it more frustrating than funny. ‘How can you liken that to Graziano hitting and kicking Zara?’ asks one BBC insider.
‘And there is the problem that it creates noise which damages the show when really it was a woman wanting to teach her partner to dance. What did he expect when he signed up?’ Quite.
Scandal factor: 1
Brendan Cole, Fiona Phillips, Claire King
Throughout his tenure on Strictly, Brendan Cole was known as the ‘scary one’. He took no prisoners and had a planet-sized ego.
Video resurfaced last week of him screaming at Emmerdale star Claire King during rehearsals, footage which was shown on It Takes Two with Duran Duran’s Wild Boys playing in the background.
At the time, Claire said Brendan was nasty and he ‘ground down her confidence’. While my own dealings with Brendan have been strained, a bully he isn’t; a perfectionist he is.
However, when I saw another video of him slapping the backside of his former Strictly partner, ex-GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips, three times during rehearsals in 2005, I got the ick. Fiona, while she admits he was unpleasant, has no qualms.
Scandal factor: 4
Paralympian Will Bayley says he will suffer for life from a knee injury sustained while jumping for his routine rehearsal with Janette Manrara in 2019
Will Bayley and Janette Manrara
For starters, I should point out that Janette is possibly the nicest, most gentle woman you could wish to meet. So of all of the claims against Strictly, the allegations made against her earlier this week seem the most unfair.
Paralympian Will Bayley lambasted her for describing a jump he had done in rehearsals for the 2019 series as ‘rubbish’. When he tried again, despite concerns from his coach, he heard his leg crack and suffered what he says was ‘horrific pain’. Instead of being rushed to hospital, however, he was taken to a hotel room where his knee was put in ice. His torn ligaments forced him to pull out, but he says bosses made him feel like the incident was his fault. He also complained he was left out of the cast’s WhatsApp group. My sources say that’s because he was ‘very annoying’.
Scandal factor: 1
Melanie Blake
Blake has claimed a Strictly pro made suggestive remarks and sexually assaulted her at rehearsals.
Melanie, who is publicist for some minor Loose Women stars, says he told her he wanted to ‘bang’ a woman in a ‘skimpy costume’. She also alleges the unnamed man then put ‘my hand on his crotch to show me he had an erection and also brag about the size of it, asking me what I thought’.
Melanie, who is known within the showbusiness and TV industry as being ‘high-maintenance and outspoken’, didn’t name the man. Someone familiar with her claim tells me: ‘Whatever she thinks, she certainly wasn’t this person’s type.’
Scandal factor: 0
