Graziano Di Prima looking sad during an interview
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Graziano Di Prima ‘under medical supervision’ as his family ‘monitoring him hourly’ amid Strictly scandal

Graziano exited the BBC show earlier this month

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Former Strictly dancer Graziano Di Prima is reportedly “under medical supervision” following his departure from the show.

Graziano was axed from the hit BBC show earlier this month amid allegations that he kicked, spat at, and hit his 2023 celeb partner Zara McDermott during rehearsals.

Graziano Di Prima looking sad during an interview
Graziano has been left ‘stressed’ by the situation (Credit: BBC)

Strictly star Graziano Di Prima under ‘medical supervision’

Earlier this month, it was reported that Graziano had allegedly kicked, spat at, and hit Zara behind-the-scenes of Strictly last year.

Zara kept her silence on the matter until this month, when she was interviewed by the BBC. The BBC recently announced that Graziano wouldn’t return to the show.

Now, the Italian dancer is back in Italy with his family – however they’re concerned over the dancer, according to new reports.

“Graziano is currently under medical supervision, with the stress of the situation causing significant concern for his family, who are monitoring him hourly. The unrelenting feeding frenzy over these accusations and his mental state leaves him at this time unable to defend himself,” his family members reportedly told The Mirror.

ED! has contacted Graziano’s reps for comment.

Graziano Di Prima during a podcast
Graziano is now back in Italy (Credit: Pink Mondo Media / YouTube)

Strictly star Graziano Di Prima admits kicking Zara as he finds new job

Last week, a spokesperson for Graziano confirmed that the Italian dancer, 30, had kicked Zara during Strictly rehearsals.

“There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that,” his spokesperson told BBC News.

“He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”

Now back in Italy, it has been reported that Graziano is keeping his head down and working on a farm.

“Graziano has gone back to basics working on the land. He’s totally alone in the field digging ditches and clearing wood, a standard practice to prevent fires, working for a minimal sum but it’s not about the money,” a pal told the MailOnline.

“Manual labour is what he grew up doing, since he was eight-years old. It’s about keeping his mind active and a distraction technique from the toxic fallout of his departure from Strictly.”

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Zara’s best mate signs up

Now, it’s been reported that Zara’s close friend, Pete Wicks, has signed up for Strictly.

Pete, who is best known for being on TOWIE, is a close friend of Zara and her boyfriend, Sam Thompson.

“Pete has joined the Strictly line up and is excited to get started,” a source told The Sun.

“He isn’t much of a dancer but that’s what the BBC loved about him. They wanted the show to feel more like it did in the beginning. Pete is also going to attract younger viewers who have followed his career since Towie,” they then added.

Read more: ‘Cross’ Giovanni Pernice ‘adamant he has concrete evidence Amanda Abbington is lying’: ‘It’s a war now’

Strictly returns later this year on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. 

Graziano Di Prima: Believing in yourself and making the small things count | Pink Mondo Podcast

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer