Richard Madeley has weighed in on the ongoing scandal plaguing BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Last week, pro dancer Graziano Di Prima was fired over unspecified claims of “gross misconduct”, after staffers on the show who had observed Di Prima’s rehearsals with his 2023 partner, TV star Zara McDermott, were reportedly “reduced to tears” by what they saw in training.
It follows a number of other controversies to hit the popular dancing contest, after the axing of Giovanni Pernice earlier this year.
On Good Morning Britain on Thursday (18 July), Madeley has claimed that people involved in the programme had known about the emerging allegations “for years”.
“I have to say the people that I know involved in that programme all talk about these issues and they say they’ve all known for years and years and years but the lid has been kept on it and now that lid is coming off,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to both contestants and also professionals about it. And I think no one has been surprised that this stuff has surfaced.”
He continued: “I remember somebody who worked on the show for years and years turning to me and saying ‘Strictly is a wonderful show with a dark heart’ and I never really understood what that meant.
“But perhaps one of the things that meant is what you don’t see. And that is how intensively competitive that is.”
Earlier this week the BBC introduced new precautions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of contestants, including chaperones.
The initial investigation into training practices was launched after Sherlock star Amanda Abbington raised concerns with the alleged behaviour of her professional partner Giovanni Pernice, which led to the pro departing the series earlier this year. Abbington said her time on the show was “tough” and “horrible”.
Following the departure of Pernice and Di Prama, reports emerged that a third Strictly Come Dancing star has been named as a “person of interest” amid an investigation into the BBC show’s off-screen rehearsals.
It’s been claimed that the unidentified professional has been highlighted days after Graziano Di Prima was dropped from the show when training footage allegedly showed him mistreating his celebrity partner Zara McDermott on last year’s series.