Strictly scandal continues: Zara McDermott’s ordeal and Graziano’s downfall箴KATIE HIND’s investigation

For those watching from the wings, the passion, drama and emotion behind the nation’s favourite dance show are laid bare on an almost daily basis during rehearsals.

But when a group of Strictly Come Dancing employees witnessed pro Graziano Di Prima’s behaviour towards his celebrity partner, Zara McDermott, they immediately complained to their bosses.

Having seen the Sicilian dancer acting aggressively towards the 27-year-old, they expected him to be instantly sacked.

But not only was he allowed to carry on appearing on the Saturday-night staple, he was later invited on the tour and last month unveiled as one of the returning pros for the upcoming series.

Today, after it emerged that there were multiple complaints of physical and verbal abuse against Di Prima, including claims he hit and kicked his former dance partner, the Mail can reveal that Strictly production staff are said to be absolutely furious that their complaints were ignored, meaning that abuse towards Ms McDermott, a former Love Island star, was allowed to continue.

‘There were multiple occasions where both physical and verbal attacks were made,’ said a Strictly source. ‘It was more physical than verbal, but all of it was dreadful.’

Worse still, they claim that a crisis meeting to address what was going on was cancelled at the last minute.

It was nine months later, when the employees got their hands on a clip of one of the incidents and presented it to the BBC bosses leading the investigation into professional dancer Giovanni Pernice — who quit the show amid accusations of bullying last month — that their concerns were finally acted upon.

The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that Di Prima, who joined Strictly in 2018, has now been sacked for gross misconduct. He was accused of physically and verbally abusing Ms McDermott, whom he danced with until the sixth week of the 2023 series, when they were eliminated.

Strictly sources told this newspaper that they now believe there was a ‘cover-up’ which bosses hoped would save fan favourite Di Prima from being ousted.

The BBC declined to comment when approached about this last night. But the unfolding scandal has lead some to fear that the very future of the programme could now be at risk.

One BBC insider said: ‘There is absolutely no doubt that those very high up on Strictly, and wider at the BBC, knew about Graziano’s behaviour but they allowed him to still appear on screen.

‘How on earth can you just let them off when they have done something like that . . . Maybe it’s because he was adored by some of the bosses, who knows, but whatever the reason for not dealing with this properly cannot be ignored. This is surely the beginning of the end for Strictly now. This is a terrible, terrible crisis.

‘The ultimate question that needs to be answered is why Graziano was asked back for another series.’

The employees approached senior HR executives who were in charge of the investigation into Pernice – which followed claims from his dance partner Amanda Abbington that he bullied her in training – with a video clip of Di Prima allegedly hitting Ms McDermott. It was then that he was sacked, literally on the spot, a little over a week ago.

For Ms McDermott’s part, she was simply ‘too frightened’ to put a complaint in at the time, with her friends going so far as to claim that there was ‘some coe
rcion’ going on. However, when approached by BBC investigators, who informed her that they had been told of the abuse, she agreed to meet and share her torment with them.

‘It was incredibly brave of her to do that,’ said one friend of the reality star. ‘It was horrendous but, like many women who suffer abuse, it is difficult to come forward for fear that your career is over if you do so.

‘But how wonderful that the production team had her back and spoke up for her when she was too scared to.’

A statement released by the corporation confirmed Di Prima’s departure: ‘We can confirm that Graziano Di Prima is no longer part of the line up of professional dancers for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.

‘While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well known that the BBC has established robust duty of care procedures and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate.’

Di Prima also addressed his exit with a post on Instagram, in which he appeared to admit wrongdoing. ‘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,’ he wrote.

According to friends, the dancer is ‘devastated’. He has hired a lawyer and publicist in a bid to come out of the scandal as unscathed as he possibly can.

While he isn’t denying any of the claims levelled against him, he insists his ‘crime’ is his ‘Sicilian passion’. He has conceded, though, that his life in the UK is over and he will be retreating to Italy where he will try to resurrect his once glittering career.

However, before he does so he is set to take legal action against the BBC, claiming that he wasn’t given any support on how to deal with the pressures involved with competing in the show. A friend of the star told the Mail: ‘There are questions over their [the BBC’s] procedures, and how they operate behind the scenes. He believes that there is a lot of pressure on professionals to get nines or tens to entertain the audience.’

Strictly insiders insist this is not the end of the scandal and fear that others will now come forward. They say it is telling that none of the professional dancers have publicly supported Pernice, 33, amid claims by Sherlock actress Ms Abbington that he mistreated her during rehearsals.

There has been an investigation into her accusations for some weeks after she instructed law firm Carter-Ruck to represent her. Pernice has instructed Schillings.

Having denied all allegations against him by Ms Abbington, he expects to be fully exonerated by the BBC and has been supported by Strictly’s head judge Shirley Ballas.

But sources now say that others are ‘scared’ that they could be next. ‘Amanda has opened a massive can of worms,’ says one. ‘The irony here is that what Zara endured was far worse than [Amanda’s] bruised toe.’

So what is next for Strictly, the much-loved, flagship show which the BBC view as its best Saturday-night programme since The Generation Game?

An inquiry into the failures of duty of care is likely and bosses are set to have to implement procedures such as psychological tests to make sure contestants are mentally strong enough to take part.

There are also fears that it will be a struggle to get celebrities to sign up. But more than anything, executives at the BBC are said to be ‘deeply worried’ that the fans will stop watching.

‘The last nine months have been a disaster,’ says a well-informed source. ‘With no idea where it is going to end, the anxiety amongst the upper echelons of the BBC is through the roof.’

The BBC did not wish to make any further comment about Di Prima’s sudden departure.