Breaking down the BBC Strictly Come Dancing abuse allegations

Every once in a while we like to turn our attention across the pond and say: What the hell is going on over there? The latest story to prompt such a question has to do with Strictly Come Dancing, the series that pioneered the celeb-plus-professional dance competition format and the predecessor for our Dancing With The Stars. The program has been a BBC mainstay since it premiered in 2004, but of late it’s taken a serious hit ever since Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington blew the whistle on mistreatment and abuse allegations behind the scenes. 

Strictly’s scandal started when Abbington dropped out midway through the show in October 2023. She came forward at the top of 2024 with claims that her partner, dance pro Giovanni Pernice, was “abusive, cruel and mean.” She told The Sun that she’d been diagnosed with PTSD after participating in Strictly, and would go on to describe her experience with Pernice as “disastrously unworkable,” “toxic,” “bullying and aggressive,” and that some of their interactions included “humiliating behavior of a sexual nature.” Pernice has denied all of Abbington’s allegations, and ultimately parted ways with the show. 

But Abbington’s public allegations seem to have prompted a larger Strictly reckoning. Dance pro Graziano Di Prima was also reportedly fired from the series after a BBC investigation into “gross misconduct.” It turns out that he kicked his celeb partner, former Love Island contestant Zara McDermott, during rehearsals last year. Through a spokesperson, Di Prima said he didn’t remember the alleged kick but didn’t deny that it happened. On Instagram, he wrote in part, “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.” For her part, McDermott insinuated that the kick wasn’t an isolated incident, writing on her own social media that “there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch.”

The BBC responded to the reported “concerns” earlier this month by introducing new welfare measures, including having a production team member present at rehearsals, a new celebrity welfare producer, a professional welfare producer, and further training for the production team and crew, per The Hollywood Reporter. Kate Phillips, BBC’s director of unscripted, said in a statement, “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.”

Despite these actions, Abbington has said the BBC didn’t take her complaints seriously. In an interview with Channel 4 News that aired yesterday, she expressed doubt that a producer present for rehearsals would solve issues, because Strictly producers were well aware of the abuse behind the scenes. She said she made a complaint early in her tenure on the show, so BBC Studios producers decided to film her rehearsals with Pernice. “Every Friday after that for the next five weeks, I would get the producers saying: ‘We’ve just watched the footage back, we are shocked and horrified, we are so sorry,’” Abbington recalled (via Deadline).

Currently involved in a legal dispute with the BBC to secure compensation from the BBC for loss of earnings and emotional trauma, she said her lawyer has been “blocked” from viewing 50 hours of footage. “He [Pernice] doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if you’ve got nothing to hide,” the actor said. Pernice has continued to deny Abbington’s allegations. “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation,” a BBC spokesperson said. “More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”

There’s clearly something wrong with the culture over there, though, if dance pros feel comfortable kicking their partners! If we can’t protect celebs and ex-reality stars from this kind of treatment, what hope is there for the rest of us?!