Strictly not a happy place'

With two dancers under fire for their behaviour, and rumours of more complaints to come, the future of Strictly Come Dancing could be hanging in the balance

- Shelley Spadoni

Strictly Come Dancing is facing its worst crisis ever – and some are claiming that the future of the BBC’s biggest entertainment show could even be in jeopardy. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Strictly on our TVs. The lead-up to the launch of the glittering new series in the autumn should be one of sparkle and joy, celebrating the show’s mix of warmth, glamour and drama – from tense dance-offs to rumours of the so-called Strictly “curse”. Instead, this year it has become what amounts to a PR nightmare.

First Giovanni Pernice, then Graziano Di Prima – two of the show’s most popular professional dancers – are facing accusations of bullying or abusive behaviour. The image of a much-loved family-friendly show is in tatters, and there are doubts about whether it can survive.

And last Thursday, reports emerged that dancer Nadiya Bychkova, who recently split from fellow pro Kai Widdrington after two years together, had approached the BBC to make a “complaint”.

PR expert Dermot McNamara of Candid told new, “In essence, there are now several people – though not all have made official comments – such as Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh making claims about training methods with other pros.

“I think the BBC will be waiting to see if any other people come forward. It seems to indicate that there’s a bigger issue at hand here. This could well be the tipping point. It’s more than a PR headache, it’s an absolute nightmare.”

Dermot added, “In my opinion, Strictly doesn’t seem particularly confident that everything is OK. They’ve said they will have people at training now, but that doesn’t fill me with much hope or confidence. If these were isolated incidents, I think you wouldn’t feel the need to bring in these measures, surely.