Ex-Strictly pro hits out at ‘pain' clip

Dancer’s denial amid growing row over treatment of stars on BBC show

- Lisa McLoughlin

FORMER Strictly professional James Jordan today hit back after footage emerged of him telling a celebrity partner he would “drag her across the floor” if she forgot moves.

The footage was filmed during a training session with actress Georgina Bouzová and shown on Strictly spin off It Takes Two during the 2006 series. Jordan, who was on the BBC dancing competition from 2006 to 2013, can be heard criticising his celebrity partner’s weight and threatening to “drag her across the floor and scream at her”.

In another part of the video, he said: “I will push her to her limit. She will go through that pain, and as far as I’m concerned, tough luck. Unless she’s actually physically broken a rib, I don’t care. Unless her feet are bleeding I don’t care, if they are sore, dance through it.”

It emerged with the BBC show in crisis, amid an investigation into the treatment of celebrities and training regimes they have been faced with.