Beaming Strictly execs proceed present rehearsals amid ongoing scandal

Strictly’s Dianne Buswell waved her arms in the air as she joined her fellow professional dancers at rehearsals on Friday.

Luba Mushtuk and Karen Hauer held hands as a sign of support as they walked into training arm in arm. 

Nikita Kuzmin answered some phone calls before arriving into the gruelling rehearsals for this year’s series. 

He was later joined by his beloved girlfriend Lauren Jaine as he departed training in his white Fiat 500. 

Meanwhile, Strictly’s executive producer Sarah James made an appearance amid the ongoing investigations into allegations. 

The professional dancers’ cheerful arrival came jut after it was reported that former Strictly contestant Zara McDermott suffered a leg fracture during training for the BBC show.

The Love Island star, 27, picked up the nasty injury while preparing for a performance with her professional partner Graziano Di Prima, and despite being in agonising pain, pushed through to compete in the dance-off.

According to sources, Zara was unaware she’d suffered the injury until she sought medical help after being eliminated from the show, and it was only recently revealed to show bosses when she was interviewed about Graziano’s conduct.

Graziano was sacked by Strictly bosses earlier this month after it was alleged footage emerged that showed him physically and verbally abusing Zara in training. 

According to The Sun, Zara relied on painkillers to get through her ten-hour training sessions with Graziano, with the pair agreeing to plough on and compete in the dance-off, before being voted off the show in Halloween Week.

Zara was then reportedly taken to hospital, where an X-Ray revealed she had severe ligament damage plus a stress fracture on her left tibia. 

A source said: ‘She started developing a really bad, niggly pain in her left leg at training. The pain got worse and by the last few weeks, she was in agony, popping painkillers before, during and after sessions.

‘She made Graziano aware of her discomfort but he was pretty adamant they needed to crack on.

‘Obviously they both wanted to get the highest scores possible, and unfortunately she pushed through the pain. She wasn’t seen to by medics on site, and production weren’t aware of the extent of her injury.’

Zara is thought to have told BBC bosses of the ‘rigorous’ training sessions she endured while paired with Graziano on the show.

However, a source close to Graziano told the publication that he encouraged her to take breaks, and she wanted to continue training despite her pain.

A spokesman for Zara declined to comment to The Sun. MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing, Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima for comment.

After Zara was pictured in a recovery boot earlier this year, she shared on social media that she’d suffered a stress fracture on her tibia, but did not say at the time it stemmed from her time on Strictly.

It comes following reports on Thursday that Zara’s pal Pete Wicks has joined the Strictly lineup.

A source told The Sun: ‘Pete has joined the Strictly line up and is excited to get started.

 ‘He isn’t much of a dancer but that’s what the BBC loved about him. They wanted the show to feel more like it did in the beginning. Pete is also going to attract younger viewers who have followed his career since Towie.’

It comes following reports on Sunday that Graziano was accused of ‘chasing’ after Zara while ‘screaming abuse,’ leaving her so frightened that she ‘locked herself in a toilet.’

He has apologised for kicking his former partner, but added other allegations do not align with ‘how he remembers it.’

According to the reports, shock details have now been revealed which allege he ‘called her nasty names, asked if she had gained weight and was forceful’ leaving her ‘visibly demoralised’ and ‘in tears.’ 

Zara herself previously claimed in a statement there had been ‘particular incidents inside the training room which were incredibly distressing.’ 

She did not report the incidents at the time as she was ‘scared’ of backlash, instead it was junior production staff who came forward. 

An insider told The Sun: ‘Zara ran to the toilets and locked herself in. He chased after her and was screaming abuse. He was aggressive and called her nasty names. It was really scary.  

‘You could constantly hear Graziano screaming but when production staff opened the door he would stop. He’d say, “How the f*** are you not getting this right?”, and “Why are we even bothering to come here?”. Zara was visibly demoralised.’

The insider added that Graziano would apologise each time and ‘promise to not do it again.’

On Thursday, Mark Borkowski, a spokesperson for Graziano, told BBC News: ‘There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that.

He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.’

Referring to the media reports, Mark added: ‘But he doesn’t recognise some of the issues surrounding it. The descriptions of what is being commented online, and how he remembers it, are not aligned.’ 

‘He [Graziano] has literally cut himself off from civilisation. I think that’s a wise thing to do, supported by his wife. He’s coming to terms with his mental health issues.’

Graziano believed the matter had been resolved at the time. 

The investigation into his behaviour was triggered by Strictly’s bid to clean up the show after fellow Italian Giovanni Pernice was accused of abusive behaviour by his 2023 dance partner Amanda Abbington, which resulted in him leaving the show. Giovanni denies the claims.

According to show insiders, video footage of Graziano mistreating Zara gave bosses no choice but to cancel his contract.

Addressing his departure on Instagram, Graziano wrote: ‘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. Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.’

He continued: ‘While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends. I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future.’

He concluded the post: ‘I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.’

A BBC Spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘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.’

Zara broke her silence after Graziano was sacked from Strictly Come Dancing over reports he ‘hit and kicked’ her on Tuesday. 

The Love Island star wrote on Instagram 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 begain. ‘Strictly is one of the most magical shows on TV and one that I dreamt of being on since I was a little girl.’ 

‘When I was invited to be a contestant on the show it really was a childhood dream come true. I fully understood the level of commitment and hard work that Strictly was going to be and I dedicated everything to it.’

‘I am a resilient person and I was fully prepared to put in whatever it took.’ 

‘And so much of my Strictly experience was everything I could have dreamt of. The entire production team and everyone behind the scenes as well as my fellow contestants were so amazing to worth with.

‘However, my experience inside the training room was very different. Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredible distressing to watch.

Zara explained that she didn’t report the incidents at the time as she was ‘scared’ of backlash. 

Instead it was junior production staff who came forward to share what they had witnessed as the investigation into pro dancer Giovanni Pernice was taking place. 

Giovanni was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda Abbington and two other former celebrity partners, which he has vehemently denied.

Appearing on Lorraine on Thursday, Amanda claimed she had friction with Giovanni almost immediately after rehearsals began and she voiced concerns about him with producers on day three.

Asked when she first made it clear something was wrong, Amanda said: ‘Week one, third day. I’ve got texts to the producer on day three going, ‘this is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m trying my best.’ That was the first week.’

The Sherlock actress has previously described the rehearsal room with Giovanni as a ‘toxic’ environment, saying: ‘I’ve been going into rehearsal rooms for 32 years. I know what rehearsal rooms are supposed to be like.

‘You have a duty of care to bring into that rehearsal room passion, sensitivity and kindess. That wasn’t extended to me and I said, I don’t think this is right.’

Asked whether there were further discussions at that stage, she said: ‘Many, many.’

The couple were paired for the show last year but Amanda left after week six – and she has since made a series of allegations about her time on the programme.

But Amanda also said this was an ‘anomaly’ and she did not want the show to end. She said: ‘I love Strictly, I think this is just an anomaly. I always wanted to do that show. I think it’s such a beautiful British institution and I think everybody loves it.

Explaining why she spoke out despite an ongoing BBC investigation, she said: ‘I felt I had to speak up because I don’t want people to be frightened of speaking about if they’re being bullied or if they feel they are in a difficult situation or if they feel like they are not being heard.

‘I do feel I have the right to say it was a toxic environment that I was in while I was rehearsing, because it was. I know what happened in the room, and it would be remiss of me if I was to just say ‘it’s fine, I don’t want to talk about it’.

‘It’s important that women and men, because men get bullied as well, it’s important that women feel they are in a safe space where they can stand up and go ‘this is inappropriate behaviour and it needs to be recognised. And I don’t want women to feel like they can’t speak out.’