The BBC’s director general has apologised to Strictly Come Dancing contestants following complaints of abusive behaviour on the show.
Tim Davie has said he was “disappointed” to learn that several celebrities had complained about how their dance partners treated them during rehearsals.
Professionals on the BBC One show should not cross the line between competition and “unacceptable behaviour”, he warned – but confirmed the show would return.
“There will be a certain degree of competitiveness and desire to do well, but there are limits and the line must never be crossed,” he said.
- Author, Ian Young
- Role, Cultural journalist
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“We never tolerate any unacceptable behavior whatsoever.”
Strictly professionals Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice have both left the show following allegations about their behaviour in training.
Pernice denied “any accusation of abusive or threatening behavior.”
Di Prima’s spokesperson admitted the dancer kicked his partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal last year. Di Prima said he deeply regretted “the events that led to my departure from Strictly” and that “his intense passion and determination to win may have affected my training schedule”.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr Davie said he was “very sorry that anyone has had an experience that has not been entirely positive”.
“It’s something we have to think about and I’m sorry about that,” he added.
“There are clearly lessons to be learned, particularly around monitoring in training rooms, that we needed to address.”
“Looking back, do you think we could have done more?” he added.
Mr Davie confirmed the show will return as planned later this year, despite its problems.
Last week, the BBC announced new measures, including having a member of the Strictly production team present at all rehearsals to observe behaviour.
There will also be improved training and two new dedicated wellness producers – one for celebrity contestants and one for professional dancers.
Launching the BBC’s annual report, the director-general described Strictly as “a wonderful show that has brought so much joy to so many people for 20 years, both to those involved in the show itself and to millions of people at home”.
“Hundreds of people – professionals, competitors and team members – took part and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time, if anyone feels that something went wrong or they want to talk about their experience, of course we want them to talk to us about it.
“Please be assured that we will take this situation seriously, that we will listen to you and that we will deal with it appropriately. And while I am not going to talk about individuals, you can see the evidence of that in the last few weeks.
“So I hope that anyone who wants to talk to us will feel able to do so.”
The program’s protocols and support structures will be “kept under review,” he said.
This year’s participating celebrities are expected to be revealed in August.
“We have a brilliant team this year and we can’t wait to get started,” he added.
Read more about the BBC’s annual report:
The complaints were first raised by Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington, who was paired with Pernice last year but pulled out midway through the series.
She has since accused him of being “unhelpful, abusive, cruel and mean”. Law firm Carter Ruck said it had contacted the BBC about “numerous serious complaints” about Pernice’s alleged behaviour.
He denies the allegations, saying he was “surprised” by the allegations and that “totally false” stories about him appear in the media every week.
Meanwhile, following the announcement of Di Prima’s departure from this year’s squad, his latest team-mate Zara McDermott said she had been involved in multiple incidents in the training room which she now finds “incredibly distressing” to revisit.
Di Prima’s spokesman said the kick was an isolated incident, adding: “He knows he made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”
Paralympian Will Bayley is among other celebrities who have spoken about their experiences on the show.
The table tennis player praised his dance partner Janette Manrara for her “incredible support” and “ultra-professionalism”.
But he said a serious injury that forced him to quit the show in 2019 “could have been avoided”, and the BBC made him feel like he was “making a mountain out of a molehill” when he later complained.
Bayley, who was born with arthrogryposis and suffers from severe arthritis, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while jumping off a table during rehearsals.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday that he would “never recover” from his injury.
After the incident he wrote to the BBC to complain and suggest more support for disabled candidates, but said he found the response “really depressing”.
“It was like saying, ‘We’ve done everything we can do and we’re backing you’. It felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. That’s how I felt,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Bayley suggested that show professionals needed more support on how to work with disabled contestants.
“You’re thrown into a dance hall with a professional dancer and you’re forced to do all these moves like lifting and jumping off a table. I think there should be more help for the professional dancer in that way,” he said.
Responding to Bayley’s comments, Mr Davie said: “The door is always open for people to come to the BBC and discuss things we can do to improve, but overall I think we have the systems and processes in place and we are updating and changing them.”