Strictly: Life inside rehearsals amid Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima fallout

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Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kristina Rihanoff has welcomed the BBC’s decision to give stars chaperones during rehearsals, after complaints about two fellow dancers on the show.

Speaking to BBC News, she said she thought celebrities would now “be feeling a little bit more comfortable” to sign up to the show.

Rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressurised,” she said, adding that celebrities would feel “at ease that there will be somebody watching and observing the situations”.

Strictly has been hit by a string of damaging allegations concerning former dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.

Pernice has denied “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”. On Thursday, Di Prima’s spokesman admitted he made a “mistake” by kicking celebrity partner Zara McDermott once during rehearsals.

Earlier this week, as more revelations came to light, the BBC announced it would put a member of the Strictly production staff in all future rehearsals, and that there would also be two new dedicated welfare producers.

It insisted it would always take any issues seriously and act when made aware of inappropriate behaviour.

Rihanoff, who was on the show between 2008-15, said the new measures were “better now than never”.

Cameras were “the answer to everything, really, because it’s there and you can’t get away from that”.

During her time on the show, Rihanoff was partnered up with celebrities including the political broadcaster and author John Sergeant, boxer Joe Calzaghe, Blue singer Simon Webbe, Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan and rugby player Ben Cohen.

Reflecting on her time on Strictly, she described it as “wonderful” but also “a challenge”.

Rehearsals were exhausting, and dancing partners sometimes needed to “walk away from each other” in frustrating moments, she said.

The pressure ramped up the closer couples got to the finals, she said.

“You have to learn several different dances and you’re already exhausted and your celebrity partner is exhausted, and you just feel the heat,” Rihanoff said.

“It’s a really, really pressurised environment and a lot of dancers struggle with mental health.”

She said she thought it needed to be explained to celebrities that the show was “not a walk in the park”.

But she added that there was “never an excuse for violence”.

“We all feel frustrated,” she said. “It’s a normal feeling, we can’t deny we have them, but it’s how you deal with that frustration.

“You shouldn’t really get onto your celebrity. You can just say, OK, let’s take a moment. Let’s walk away from each other, have a cup of tea, and just restart in a couple of minutes.”

She added that dancers needed to “remain professional” as they prepared celebrities for their Saturday night performances.

“I can’t find really [a] reason to justify unpleasant behaviour.”

Strictly has been at the centre of controversy after complaints about Pernice as well as Di Prima.

On Tuesday, TV star Zara McDermott, who was partnered with Di Prima last year, said she was involved in incidents in the Strictly training room that she now finds “incredibly distressing” to watch back.

Di Prima’s spokesman Mark Borkowski said the news agenda has focused on an isolated incident the dancer deeply regrets and has apologised for.

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

But McDermott’s spokesman said on Thursday: “Zara has already confirmed in a statement released on her social media earlier this week that the reported conduct was not a singular incident.”

Both Pernice and Di Prima have been left out of this year’s Strictly line-up.

Broadcaster Rev Richard Coles, who appeared on the show in 2017, told BBC Breakfast he was “not surprised” by the revelations.

“At the heart of the Strictly experience is this intense relationship you have with your dancer, and much of that [happens] unobserved,” he said.

“It gets very intimate, and it gets very physical in ways which I think sometimes surprise people.”

Like Rihanoff, he welcomed the move to introduce chaperones.

“I think that’s good for contestants. I also think it’s good for dancers,” he said.

Hosting Good Morning Britain on Thursday, TV presenter Richard Madeley stated that people he knows who are involved in the show “all talk about these issues, and they say that they have all known about them for years and years and years”.

He added that “the lid has been kept on it but now the lid is coming off”.

Talent agent Sue Ayton, who represents celebrities like Angela Rippon, who appeared on last year’s series, said the BBC’s duty of care measures had been “exemplary”.

However, she told BBC Radio 4’s Media Show both she and Rippon understood “the relentless training, the hard work. So we went into it with our eyes wide open. We’ve both worked with dancers, we know how hard it is.

“We know, in a short period, they’ve got to turn people into, for all intents and purposes, professional dancers in a very short time.”

Former BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey, who commissioned Strictly, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “very sad” that “clearly a line has been crossed”.

“But I think what’s important is that the BBC is dealing with it swiftly, and putting in place measures to make sure that these things don’t happen again.”

The allegations have cast a shadow over the series in its 20th anniversary year, with the celebrity line-up for this year’s series expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“I think Strictly can get over this,” Heggessey said. “I think we should hang on to all the positives, address the issue and move on.”

In a statement, Kate Phillips, BBC’s Director of Unscripted, said: “Whilst we know our shows have been positive experiences for the vast majority of those who have taken part, if issues are raised with us, or we’re made aware of inappropriate behaviour, we will always take that seriously and act.

“Concerns that have arisen have been fundamentally related to training and rehearsals. The decisive steps we have taken and are announced today, act to further strengthen the welfare and support in place for everyone involved with this production.”