Strictly Come Dancing enjoys a novel standing on British tv. The beloved BBC present has been woven into the material of the nation for 20 years, with a peerless report in gathering households on the couch and delivering a sequin-embroidered burst of sunshine and vitality as nights attract for winter. It persistently ranks among the many UK’s highest-rated reveals, has solid nationwide treasures of its stars, and spawned 60 worldwide imitations, not least ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. The opposite exceptional factor about Strictly is that it boasts a nearly unblemished report relating to scandal. Put merely, it has at all times been the BBC’s golden little one. Till now.
The present has been the topic of simmering bullying and misconduct issues for months, and the allegations lastly hit boiling level this week, prompting the BBC to fireside knowledgeable dancer and make tweaks to Strictly’s manufacturing regime. The unrest might be traced again to October 2023 when Amanda Abbington, an actress greatest recognized for her work as Mary Watson in BBC drama Sherlock, abruptly give up Season 21 citing “private causes.” On a present well-known for celebrities and their dance companions falling in love, Abbington apparently fell in loath along with her pairing, Giovanni Pernice.
She has since engaged Carter Ruck, the aggressive London regulation agency, to pursue a grievance with the BBC about Pernice. The exact nature of her allegations is unclear, however she has referred to as the 33-year-old Italian “nasty” and accused him of inappropriate, bullying habits throughout her 5 weeks on Strictly. Pernice strongly denies wrongdoing and says he’s cooperating with a BBC investigation. He has been benched for Season 22.
Abbington was not the one lady with issues about Season 21. In an unexcepted growth this week, Strictly skilled dancer Graziano Di Prima, one other Italian, was fired after the BBC was handed rehearsal video proof of him kicking accomplice Zara McDermott, the Love Island star. The dancer doesn’t recall the precise incident however acknowledges it occurred and has apologized.
Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington
BBC
The BBC moved shortly to spice up welfare assets on Strictly, however with British newspapers pursuing the story with vigor, it’s unlikely to be the tip of the revelations. A 3rd skilled is reportedly within the body, different ladies are stated to have issues (presenters Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh reportedly have misgivings about Pernice), outdated footage is being picked over, and former contestants are reflecting on their experiences, each good and dangerous. Richard Coles, a celeb priest who competed within the 2017 season, described Strictly as “a beautiful present with a darkish coronary heart.”
For these concerned in Strictly’s creation, the misconduct scandal is symbolic of mission creep from the present’s unique imaginative and prescient. Business sources have additionally questioned whether it is believable that senior BBC executives, together with content material chief Charlotte Moore, had been unaware of abuse allegations on the leisure sequence. There’s a feeling that the scandal is critical for Strictly, however not existential — notably in a yr when the present is celebrating its twentieth birthday and stays so well-loved by British audiences.
The BBC declined to remark past current statements. It has pledged to look at any issues with “care, equity and sensitivity” and says it takes obligation of care extraordinarily critically. “Our processes on the present are up to date yearly, and we’ll proceed to maintain this below fixed evaluation,” it stated this week.
Hyper-Aggressive
Jane Lush, the previous BBC leisure boss who greenlit Strictly in 2004, tells Deadline that the cutthroat nature {of professional} dancing has “seeped in by way of the backdoor” of the juggernaut. She acknowledges that early seasons had been extra aggressive than the BBC initially envisioned, however that this spirit has been supercharged within the clamor for Strictly’s well-known glitterball trophy. Lush provides that the enjoyment within the present is seeing contestants like Ed Balls, a former authorities minister, embrace the expertise and enhance their expertise, even when they don’t turn into achieved dancers.
“It’s modified,” agrees a senior producer, who was concerned in Strictly’s early seasons however needs to stay nameless. “To start with, the manufacturing and the viewers delighted in British-style amateurism. You look again on the primary few seasons, the usual of dancing is nice, however is lightyears away from the place we’ve obtained to. The expectation is that amateurs will get to semi-pro standing.”
Di Prima is probably an excellent instance of translating his lived expertise into exacting requirements in rehearsals. Mark Borkowski, who’s appearing as a spokesperson for Di Prima, explains that his shopper comes from a “poor background” in rural Sicily and realized his commerce throughout “robust” coaching at Crew Diablo, a well-known Bologna dance college. Borkowski says he’s “not excusing” the dancer’s abuse of McDermott, however is trying to convey context to the tutoring kinds Strictly professionals contemplate regular.
Graziano Di Prima and Zara McDermott
There’s a feeling within the Di Prima camp that extra steering from producers would have been welcome. “If they have a hotheaded Sicilian mood, why aren’t they given higher parameters?” provides a supply conversant in processes on Strictly. Sue Ayton, an agent who has positioned purchasers together with Angela Rippon on Strictly, argues that the BBC could possibly be extra open with celebrities and the viewers in regards to the rigors of the competition. Ayton instructed Radio 4’s The Media Present that the BBC doesn’t want to puncture the Strictly “fantasy” that it’s a joyful experience for all concerned.
The BBC’s plan to introduce chaperones seems to be an admission that it mustn’t have allowed {couples} to be alone for lengthy durations. A current contestant tells Deadline that the professionals design coaching regimes and that 30% or much less of rehearsals are filmed by BBC Studios, the BBC’s industrial manufacturing unit. Choreographers would go to briefly through the week, however so long as a video of a dance was despatched to Strictly producers by Wednesday, {couples} had loads of freedom to good a routine.
BBC Studios cameras didn’t report Di Prima kicking McDermott and the dancer didn’t movie the incident, which means that it was probably captured by McDermott herself. In an announcement this week, McDermott stated she finds the footage “extremely distressing,” however praised the BBC’s dealing with of her grievance. It’s not clear if she filmed their dance routines surreptitiously or if it was a part of their coaching strategies. An ex-contestant tells Deadline that self-filming was left to the discretion of {couples}.
Higher supervision could be baked into the format if it had been pitched in the present day, says a former Strictly producer. “The world has modified loads in 20 years,” they add. “I’m positive in the event that they had been going into manufacturing on Season 1 this autumn, they might have had chaperones within the room.” The supply provides that that is notably essential for feminine celebrities, who’re led by their male companions, opening up probably problematic energy dynamics. Welfare assist on the 2023 season included entry to counseling and expertise producers.
Whereas Lush is supportive of additional enhancements, she thinks chaperones could possibly be an overcorrection. She worries that it might change the dynamic between dance companions and intervene with their chemistry. “Members of the crew ought to pop in unannounced sporadically fairly than having a full-time chaperone who I believe would hinder the real good relationships,” says the previous BAFTA chair.
Who Knew?
There are conflicting views on whether or not BBC executives would have been conscious of the problems on Strictly. One high leisure producer, who has labored with the BBC for many years, compares the broadcaster’s dealing with of misconduct issues to the Submit Workplace scandal, a miscarriage of justice that went unnoticed for years. “Individuals learn about these items, it’s what they select to see that issues,” this particular person says.
This concept has been supported by not too long ago resurfaced clips from early seasons of Strictly that includes habits that could possibly be thought-about unacceptable by trendy requirements. Footage initially broadcast on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two confirmed ex-pro James Jordan kicking a chair in anger and promising to push accomplice Georgina Bouzova “to her restrict.” Jordan stated this week that the clip was shot and edited for leisure. A second clip reveals Brendan Cole, one other ex-pro, slapping his accomplice Fiona Phillips’ bum and being aggressive.
BBC director normal Tim Davie
Getty
One other producer argues that abuse can usually stay hidden till the sufferer is ready to talk out. “Sadly, it’s completely doable that the BBC wouldn’t have recognized,” this particular person argues, pointing to McDermott’s reticence to return ahead. In her assertion, she stated: “I used to be scared about my future, I used to be fearful of sufferer shaming.”
The BBC is prone to be questioned about Strictly subsequent week when director normal Tim Davie presents the company’s annual report. Kate Phillips, the BBC’s director of unscripted content material, was at pains to level out this week that the “overwhelming majority” of contestants have “constructive experiences” on the present and the place issues are raised “we’ll at all times take that critically and act.”
Strictly is a central plank of the BBC’s public service mission, however it is usually a profitable industrial asset for BBC Studios. The manufacturing arm is having conversations with producers exterior of the UK to make sure the Strictly scandal doesn’t leech into different territories. A BBC Studios spokesperson says “new measures being launched within the UK” will contribute to an “ongoing dialogue” round worldwide variations of the present.
Strictly will return to BBC1 in September, full with presenting duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Lorraine Heggessey, the previous controller of BBC1, predicts the sequence will get better: “Strictly can recover from this. We should always cling on to the positives, handle the difficulty, and transfer on.” Ex-BBC leisure chief Lush places it like this: “Lengthy dwell Strictly.”
