Strictly: Even BBC bosses worry the tip as extra complaints emerge

On Wednesday afternoon at the BBC‘s stately HQ, Broadcasting House, a meeting was convened to discuss whether or not Strictly Come Dancing could be saved.

Could it really be the end for the Corporation’s golden goose — that was the question to be tackled after bosses had spent the past ten days fighting for its future.

However, their biggest fear, even more than the gradual, insidious drip-feed of complaints, is whether the show, now in its 20th year, is about to have its darker side revealed in full. That the shiny veneer of glitterballs and sequins, so adored by viewers, has gone for ever.

Many BBC chiefs have conceded that it is going to be ‘almost impossible’ for Strictly’s millions of viewers to forget what they have learned in the past week after it was revealed that Graziano Di Prima was fired for hitting and kicking his partner Zara McDermott during training in last year’s series.

It has opened a can of worms — and the BBC is terrified. ‘It’s unravelling at a rate of knots,’ one Strictly staff member tells me.

‘There has been a culture on the programme which has been kept very much away from the viewers, until now.

‘The contrast between what those watching at home see on their screens and what happens behind the scenes has been huge for a long time, but now the viewers have seen it. It is a massive problem, the trust has gone and there is no way of winning it back.’

Indeed, it has been a tumultuous week for Strictly. The Mail on Sunday revealed how Sicilian dancer Graziano had been sacked for gross misconduct after repeatedly physically and verbally abusing Zara, a former Love Island star and now a documentary maker.

What made matters worse is that he was warned by bosses during the series for behaving aggressively towards her but was still invited on the post-show Strictly tour and invited back for the forthcoming series.

He has since admitted his wrongdoing and hired a crisis PR to salvage his reputation, insisting that he was treated badly, and not supported following the warning.

Then footage emerged of former Strictly professional dancer James Jordan threatening to drag his 2006 partner, Casualty actress Georgina Bouzova, across the floor and screaming at her during rehearsals if she didn’t stand on one leg.

And on Thursday morning bosses at the broadcaster met with current professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova, who has also made a complaint about the show.

It follows her acrimonious split from fellow Strictly pro Kai Widdrington in June.

Now there are fears their fallout will be yet another issue the BBC will have to deal with, as the professionals return to training on Monday ahead of preparations for the next series, which is due to start on August 21.

All of this, of course, comes in the wake of actress Amanda Abbington claiming that her dance partner in the last series, Giovanni Pernice, bullied her during training sessions — something he denies.

Now I can reveal that there has been yet another complaint: accusations of mental abuse against someone connected with the show.

So, no wonder bosses are in meltdown as they approach their 20th anniversary show.

But what is concerning them most is the steady stream of people coming forward to voice their concerns about the glittering dance series, the BBC’s biggest Saturday night triumph since The Generation Game, which is still watched by more than six million fans.

Kate Phillips, controller of BBC Entertainment, is under immense pressure to save the reputation of her longest-running, and most watched, show. She is said to be reading and listening to ‘every single word’ written or said.

Some even fear that Strictly executives will be called before the Government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee just as ITV was following the scandal surrounding a toxic working culture on its daytime show This Morning and Phillip Schofield’s relationship with a much younger member of staff.

For Strictly it would further smash the illusion of it being the ultimate family friendly show.

The BBC has now set up a team to deal with any complaints as soon as they are made.

An insider tells me: ‘There is absolute fear that this is going to escalate and do some severe damage. It would be a thing of nightmares to end up in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, who can then probe and probe away.

‘There are, of course, worries that what they find may not exactly be in keeping with how the BBC likes to present itself: you know, cosy, woke and caring.’

The insider adds: ‘Every cough and spit of every complaint, and how it was handled, would have to come out. It would be a disaster but ultimately there are questions, particularly as to why Graziano was warned twice about his behaviour but allowed back.

‘As a Corporation, it now knows that it has to act fast but with that comes a big headache.

‘There is barely any time to do any actual work [on the next series] because staff are in meetings about Strictly all of the time.’

Those who have been involved with Strictly for a long time point out that the culture has been toxic from the beginning, but concede things have got a lot worse.

In new, unearthed footage, a clip was screened on Strictly’s spin-off show, It Takes Two, showing James Jordan and Brendan Cole — who is also no longer on the show — shouting at their female dance partners while Duran Duran’s hit song The Wild Boys plays in the background.

In one scene, Brendan was seen calling Emmerdale actress Claire King ‘lazy’ followed by an insulting swear word which was bleeped out.

Then there’s footage of James Jordan taking down Georgina Bouzova, saying: ‘You are the laziest person I have ever met.’

The video was spliced with clips of both couples appearing serenely on the Strictly ballroom during the Saturday night show.

Before it was aired, even Claudia Winkleman, the then host of It Takes Two, admitted: ‘I’m a little bit scared.’

That was back in 2006 when Strictly had been running for just two years. But the video has been shared by production staff working on the programme in the past week, some of whom are ‘horrified’ at what they saw.

‘The BBC are celebrating that behaviour,’ one insider tells me. ‘Clearly the bosses think that this aggressive behaviour is something that was a laugh, they totally made light of the situation by simply portraying them as wild boys. It’s disgusting.’

Admittedly this was 18 years ago, but Strictly bosses are not happy that such footage is resurfacing as, I’m told, it reinforces the unpleasant culture of the programme.

‘It’s there for all to see, no matter how people might say these videos are edited, these professional dancers are still shouting and being aggressive. It was, for so many years, deemed to be OK.’

The fallout isn’t always just between the professionals and their partners.

And the alleged aggressors are not always the men, either. In 2013 the much-loved professional dancer Ola Jordan — wife of James — fled rehearsals in tears and threatened to quit Strictly after what she described as a cruel ‘bullying’ attack by her co-star, Karen Hauer.

Ola, who at the time was one of Strictly’s biggest pro-dancer stars, revealed how Karen, then a newcomer, told her at rehearsals: ‘You’re a rubbish dancer, Ola. That’s why you’re always at the back.’

She ran into the arms of husband James, sobbing: ‘I can’t do it any more. I’m not strong enough to be spoken to like that.’

The show’s bosses — alarmed at the prospect of losing Ola — called a crisis meeting with the women to attempt to placate the situation.

The clash happened after the professionals had gathered on a Monday to rehearse a group dance for the Saturday live show.

An insider said of the incident: ‘The dancers were on a break from rehearsing and Ola’s husband had popped out of the studio to get some fresh air when Karen approached Ola and began saying nasty things.

‘She told her she was a rubbish dancer and that was why she was always put at the back of the stage, even though that’s not true. Ola doesn’t know if it’s jealousy or what but it was horrible. It was a totally unprovoked verbal attack and Ola was very, very upset and felt she was being bullied.’

She eventually left the show in 2015, while Karen remains one of the longest-serving professional dancers, having worked on the show for 12 years.

The word bully is certainly one that has been thrown around since 2006.

M any celebrities who take part, as much as they gush about enjoying every second of their Strictly ‘journey’ on camera, speak privately of horrors behind the scenes.

So what makes these professional dancers, most of whom adore their art and have been doing it since childhood, behave so badly?

One source puts it down to ‘pure arrogance’: ‘They are at the top of their game — and they know it —but they need to be told that they have to behave responsibly.’

But insiders say there has been a shift in ethos over the past six or seven years that’s made the dancers much more cut-throat and determined.

One celebrity contestant told the Mail how she believes the BBC has ‘forgotten’ that Strictly is an amateur dance programme; instead, winning has become king.

‘They seem to have forgotten the basis is a fun competition for amateurs, and they think it’s a professional dance programme,’ she said.

‘They now import teams of professional choreographers, instead of just allowing the professional partners to choreograph, and extend the shows so they need more specialist routines such as the Charleston and the Argentine tango.

She described how, nowadays, when celebrities are invited to take part, many will decline, saying ‘they haven’t done enough training’.

‘So, they’re doing a lot of training before they agree to take part.

‘In the last series they even included as an ‘amateur’ contestant a brilliant West End dancer, Layton Williams, who has been a professional performer longer than many of the professional partners, and ended up in the final and won many of the shows on the tour.

‘And I imagine all this professionalism might mean even more pressure behind the scenes.

‘Yet every aspect of the presentation — the costume, make-up, lighting, direction and music — it’s all brilliant.

‘They make Strictly the most glamorous show on TV, and that’s why these stories are so sad.

‘We viewers look forward to the Strictly sparkle in the dark, cold days of winter.

‘Also it’s made all over the world — so how do other countries avoid these problems, if they do.’

As for this year’s series, Strictly’s much-admired casting director, Stefania Aleksander, is struggling to get a line-up together. I’m told that more than ever she is having to turn to the BBC’s own talent to fill the slots.

New Blue Peter presenter Shini Muthukrishnan was understood to be on the verge of signing but, according to sources, there has been ‘little more action’ since.

‘Who can blame celebrities for wanting to stay away,’ said one insider. ‘It is all very toxic at the moment.’

The outcome of the BBC investigation into Amanda Abbington’s complaint against Giovanni Pernice is expected within a week or so, and Giovanni anticipates being exonerated.

However, the upper echelons of the BBC are said to be ‘deeply worried’ about Amanda’s reaction if the decision doesn’t go her way and fear the ripples of discontent could continue into the forthcoming new series.

‘It’s never-ending,’ said one BBC employee. ‘It’s a nightmare.’