Strictly’s Janette Manrara breaks silence after Will Bayley claims

Questions have been raised over whether Strictly will survive as Janette Manrara has broken her silence after Paralympian Will Bayley claimed she made him redo a jump that caused a lifelong injury – amid the latest drama for the ‘fatally tarnished’ show

A BBC spokesperson for the It Takes Two host said the professional dancer has never received any complaints” regarding her training methods.

Table tennis player Will, 36, claimed he sustained a lifelong injury while jumping during a performance on the show and blamed his then-partner Janette.

A representative for Janette told the BBC: ‘Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice. 

‘Her celebrity partner’s safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly. 

‘Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will.’

Will was born with arthrogryposis which limits the range of motion in the joints of his limbs and completed the move with straight knees. He opened up about the daily pain he suffers from over the weekend. 

A resurfaced clip aired during that year’s live shows has shown the devastating moment Will was curled up on the floor in pain after the jump.

The video heard Tess explaining that Will had been injured and would not be dancing that week, as it cut to the sportsman lying on the floor in agony with a medic crouched down helping with first aid.

Janette was also seen visibly distressed as she sat comforting her celebrity partner. In a later part of the video, Janette was herself consoled by fellow professional dancer Nancy Xu. 

‘I jumped off the table and as I landed, I landed with straight legs,’ Will said in the VT at the time. 

‘I thought I’d broke my leg because I’d never felt anything like it before but luckily it’s not as severe as what I thought when I first did it. 

‘To hear the words I “absolutely can’t dance” is just really gutting for me but I need to recover now and come back even stronger next week.’ 

Will was given a week’s pass before he had to withdraw from the competition completely when his injury meant he would have to miss another live show. 

Recalling the ‘horrific pain’ he experienced as he crashed to the ground, the gold medallist, admitted he thought ‘his whole career was over.’

Earlier on Monday, the BBC broke their silence after Paralympian Will’s claims over the weekend.

Will was left with excruciating knee pain after competing on the series. 

The BBC said: ‘We have longstanding protocols for dealing with injuries if they occur and that includes contestants receiving all necessary treatment and support as required.’ 

Speaking to The Sun, Will said: ‘We practiced a few times and I was really careful. But then Janette said my jump was ‘rubbish’ and I needed to smile more and go for it and show a bit of passion.’ 

Determined to improve, the sportsman ‘went for it’ but experienced ‘the most horrific pain.’

‘I was lying on the floor thinking my whole career was over. I heard my leg crack, I couldn’t breathe,’ he recounted. 

‘I’ll never get over that injury — you have it for life. I’ve already got a limiting disability but this on top of it. I wake up in the morning and it hurts. I can now only train for a couple hours before it’s sore.’ 

Will explained that he ‘didn’t have an issue with Janette’ but felt that she was under pressure from the show’s bosses. They have remained friends since their time on the series. 

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We will not be commenting on individuals or engaging with speculation. However, as we have said previously we will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us directly and we have appropriate procedures and processes in place to manage this.’

At the time of his injury, Will praised his dancing partner Janette for being ‘like a rock’ after his ‘incredible experience’ came to an end, leaving her in tears. 

He described hearing his knee ‘pop’ and thought he had broken his leg before a doctor told him he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament.

Appearing on the show as part of the audience, Will said : ‘I am so gutted but it’s so good to be here to support everyone, they’re all smashing it tonight. 

‘I feel like I’ve had the most support throughout this whole process, the least I can do is come back and I’m proud to watch you guys.’

He added: ‘It’s getting there I want to see what it’s like in a couple of weeks but I’ll be there in Tokyo I want to try and win that gold medal again.’

‘My highlight has having my partner Janette, she’s been like my rock to me I can’t speak highly of her enough.’

After recovering from his injury Will won both individual and team silver at the rearranged 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021.

Strictly has been plunged into chaos in recent weeks as a number of allegations of abuse from professionals have come to light.

The scandal erupted when actress Amanda Abbington quit the show last year before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her – later leaving the show.

Soon after it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Next an unnamed female Strictly dancer was brought into the scandal after it was reported that they screamed in their male partner’s face and berated him off-camera.

And on Monday two other professionals – Ola Jordan and Janette – were brought into the drama as the show was branded ‘fatally tarnished’ by one insider.

Amanda quit the show last year before claiming that her partner Giovanni was abusive towards her. He later left the show after vehemently denying all claims.

Amanda, 50, abruptly left the BBC show citing ‘personal issues’ and hasn’t been seen on screen since, even quitting social media last month in the wake of her former dance partner’s sacking.

Giovanni, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners. 

Speaking in her first interview over the weekend since quitting Strictly in October, Amanda said Giovanni’s behaviour was ‘unnecessary.’

In an interview with The Sun, Amanda said: ‘I found Giovanni’s behaviour unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean. I couldn’t sit back and let him do that to other people.’

Fellow Italian dancer Graziano Di Prima was sacked from the programme earlier this month after he was accused of kicking and spitting at Zara McDermott. 

Strictly bosses then announced plans to introduce chaperones during training, and the appointment of two new welfare producers, after Graziano’s shock sacking from the show.

Love Island star Zara broke her silence on the scandal last week. 

She wrote on Instagram on Tuesday morning that while much of her time on Strictly ‘was everything I could have dreamt of’ inside the training room with Graziano there were ‘particular incidents which are incredibly distressing’.

‘I felt it was right that I post something regarding the recent media reports,’ Zara began. ‘Strictly is one of the most magical shows on TV and one that I dreamt of being on since I was a little girl.’

It is not just male dancers who are now facing allegations of abusive behaviour. 

Last week a celebrity who took part in the show claimed that a currently unnamed female Strictly dancer screamed in his face and berated him off-camera. 

The Daily Mirror reported that the household name’s allegations do not include physical abuse. 

A source said: ‘The man in question felt very much victimized by the behaviour of his Strictly partner.

‘He alleges that on several occasions she flew into a real fury when he couldn’t get the steps right, and on one occasion screamed full in his face. They rowed every single day.’

Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional partner on Strictly Come Dancing Ola Jordan back in 2014 claiming she ‘bullied’ him.

The hardened explorer and presenter, now 51, – who has dived with Great White sharks and wrestled poisonous snakes in his career – lodged a complaint with the channel after struggling in gruelling practice sessions.

The bullying claims have reemerged during a time of crisis for the show amid various abuse scandals and a misconduct probe – with insiders now saying that the series is ‘fatally tarnished’.

After he made the complaint the pair were assigned a chaperone to follow them around after he refused to be alone with the now 41-year-old Polish-born dancer. 

The programme’s bosses were forced to step in after he alleged that she had dented his confidence with her ‘rude and impatient’ manner.

A source close to the show explained at the time: ‘Steve is a very bouncy personality, up for any challenge, but Ola’s harsh treatment has flattened him and made him lose confidence.

‘She was very rude and impatient when he found it difficult to master the shapes for last Saturday’s Charleston.

‘Her choreography and tuition was so tough, Steve resorted to asking other people to show him what he had to do. 

‘Ola is a cold and very distant personality, who refuses to mix with Steve’s family and friends,’ the source added.

It is understood that Steve complained directly to one of the Strictly producers after their Halloween-themed Charleston.

It comes after last week Ola’s husband and fellow former pro on the show James furiously hit back after unearthed footage emerged of him telling his partner Georgina Bouzova he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves.

The ballroom dancer and choreographer, 46, slammed the BBC after the clip began doing the rounds again following the recent Giovanni and Graziano scandals – saying most of the footage ‘was not related to Georgina at all’.

The clip, which was filmed during the fourth series back in 2006, shows him rehearsing with actress Georgina.

He also says to her ‘kill you’ as he demands she stands on one leg and insists that unless she has physically broken a rib he doesn’t care what pain she is in. He is also seen throwing a chair across the training studio.

But he has since responded to the clip on his Instagram as he shared a raging statement saying that the footage was ‘edited for entertainment’ and was ‘highly produced and exaggerated’.