Strictly has been rocked by scandal this year, with allegations about Graziano Di Prima‘s behaviour behind the scenes the latest to cast a dark cloud over the special 20th anniversary series.
However, it’s not the first time that the show has been hit with scandal this year, let alone in the last 20.
Here’s an inside look at all the scandals that have rocked the hit BBC show over the past two decades, from ‘bullying’ allegations to break-ups…
Strictly scandal: ‘Bullying’ allegations
Back in July, it was announced that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from the show amid allegations that he had kicked, hit and spat at Zara McDermott.
Zara and Graziano danced together on the last series of the show.
The incidents allegedly took place during rehearsals – and were not confirmed by Zara until she was interviewed by the BBC about them recently.
“My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime,” Graziano later said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Zara described videos of the incidents as “incredibly distressing”. She also claimed that she’d “wrestled with the fear of opening up” about her experience on the show.
Giovanni Pernice vs Amanda Abbington drama
Last year’s series saw Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington dancing together.
However, in week six, Amanda dramatically quit the show. She later claimed that dancing and training with Giovanni had left her with PTSD.
The actress also requested footage of her rehearsals with Giovanni. However, this was allegedly blocked by Giovanni, despite him denying any wrongdoing.
“Giovanni had a tough training method. Amanda would be bruised. Amanda had a terrible experience with Gio. She felt his behaviour was bullying and abrasive. She would be in tears as communication between them broke down,” an insider alleged to The Sun in May.
A probe was then launched by the BBC into Giovanni’s behaviour, which has now been extended, with a third pro reported to be a “person of interest”.
Speaking to the MailOnline in June, Amanda said: “I asked for them [rehearsals] to be recorded, it was me. Giovanni is nasty. He was awful to a few of us, a group of us.”
In June, it was confirmed that Giovanni wouldn’t be returning to the show. He’s dancing on the Italian version of the series instead.
Beginning of the end for Strictly?
In the wake of the investigation into the latest show scandal, some called for the show to be cancelled. So, depending on the outcome of the inquiry, are we looking at the beginning of the end for the BBC dance show?
“Strictly Come Dancing needs to be cancelled,” one tweeted. “Strictly is gonna get cancelled in a minute,” another said. “What an absolute disgrace – Strictly should be cancelled and all associated with it sacked,” a third fumed recently.
“Axe it. Strictly Come Dancing has had its day. Full of narcissistic bullies,” another claimed. “Abysmal Programme… time to axe it!” another agreed.
However, the series started earlier this month and appears to be winning over viewers so far…
20 years of Strictly scandals: ‘Kissgate’
Back in 2018, Strictly was rocked by scandal when Katya Jones and Seann Walsh were spotted sharing a kiss outside a London pub.
At the time, Seann was in a relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries.
Katya, meanwhile, was married to fellow pro dancer Neil Jones (whom she later divorced).
Seann and Katya apologised for their actions in an excruciatingly awkward It Takes Two interview, before surviving one more week before being eliminated.
In the wake of the backlash, Seann revealed that he’d suffered panic attacks and struggled with depression. He apologised to the public at the time.
Seann’s ex released a statement at the time in which she accused him of “controlling” behaviour.
Speaking on Jonathan Ross Show, he said: “I think if you lie and cheat on the person you’re meant to care for and be in a relationship with, then that is a form of abuse, of course it is.”
Arlene Phillips’ axing
In 2008, Arlene Phillips was axed from the show. The judge, who was in her mid-sixties at the time, was replaced by Alesha Dixon, who is 35 years her junior.
To make matters worse, Alesha’s only dancing experience came from winning the show the previous year.
Meanwhile, Arlene’s male co-judges, Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli, all kept their jobs.
Her axing sparked a sexism and ageism row and was widely criticised.
Jay Hunt, the controller of BBC One at the time, hit back at the criticism. “When I looked at the four people we had, Bruno is the joker, Craig is the Simon Cowell of the show and Len is the head judge. Arlene has elements of all of them, but when you look at it, Arlene was the obvious one to change,” she said.
Strictly scandal – racism row
In 2009, Anton Du Beke found himself in hot water thanks to a comment he made to his celeb partner, Laila Rouass.
During a rehearsal, Anton called Laila a racial slur. Laila, who is mixed race, reportedly stormed out of the rehearsal at the time.
In a statement, Anton apologised for his comment and insisted that he wasn’t racist.
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“During the course of rehearsals Laila and I have exchanged a great deal of banter entirely in jest, and two weeks ago there was an occasion when this term was used between the two of us,” he said.
“There was no racist intent whatsoever but I accept that it is a term which causes offence and I regret my use of it, which was done without thought or consideration of how others would react.”
Primeval star Laila said that she had accepted his apology and they had “moved on”.
The ultimate Strictly scandal : The Strictly ‘curse’
The so-called ‘curse’ has struck several times throughout the series.
In 2007, Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone were together. However, at the end of the series, Flavia ended their relationship and got together with her celeb partner, Matt Di Angelo.
In 2009, Joe Calzaghe split from his girlfriend before beginning a relationship with his dance partner, Kristina Rihanoff.
They split in 2013 – and Kristina soon began a relationship with her new celeb partner, Ben Cohen (who split from his wife). The couple now appear to be on the rocks and have a daughter together.
In 2013, Rachel Riley split from her husband not long after taking part in the series. She began a relationship with her dance partner Pasha Kovalev shortly after. They are still together and have two children.
Stacey Dooley was in a relationship when she first started doing Strictly in 2018, however, their relationship fell apart over the course of the series. After the series ended, Stacey and her dance partner Kevin Clifton went official with their romance. In an interview, Stacey’s ex branded Kevin a “snake” and a “rat”. “The blame is with Kevin. He’s an absolute rat,” he said at the time.
In 2018, Dianne Buswell also ended her relationship with her boyfriend during the series. Shortly after the series ended, she and Joe Sugg, her celeb partner, went official with their romance.
Strictly is on Saturday (September 28) at 6.15pm on BBC One.
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