Strictly Come dancing could not be addressed the recent scandals such as The series returned to British television on Saturday for its 20th anniversary.
The BBC programme’s high point was marred by scandal, with actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly leaving the series in October last year after alleging that her partner Giovanni Pernice had abused her.
The show was then hit by scandal again when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.
However, the BBC dodged the controversy during the launch episode of the new series on Saturday.
Hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly enthusiastically introduced this year’s celebrities and announced which dancers they would be paired with. However, last year’s controversies remained unmentioned.
Strictly Come Dancing failed to address the recent scandals when it returned to British television screens on Saturday for its 20th anniversary series
The show was hit by a fresh wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott
Strictly’s 20th anniversary series has been somewhat tainted after the BBC show became embroiled in a scandal when Sherlock Actress Amanda made a series of allegations about Giovanni’s teaching methods, describing his behaviour as “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean”.
Giovanni, 33, has been suspended while the BBC investigates allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrities.
He has strongly denied the allegations.
With the report into his misconduct due to be released any day now, Amanda is reportedly deeply disappointed with BBC bosses who fear they are ‘protecting’ the dancer during the bullying investigation.
High-level meetings have been held between BBC bosses to work out how to present their findings, with fears of legal action from Amanda or Giovanni if either of them is disappointed with the outcome.
After Giovanni, the series was hit by another wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was fired.
His former celebrity partner Zara explained that she did not report the incidents at the time because she was “scared” of negative reactions.
IInstead, it was the junior production staff who came forward to share what they had seen while researching professional dancers Jan took place.
Presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly enthusiastically introduced this year’s celebrities and revealed which dancers they would be paired with – but last year’s controversies were not mentioned.
The BBC sidestepped the controversy during the launch episode of the new series on Saturday
Giovanni, 33, has been suspended while a BBC investigation continues into allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners. He has vehemently denied the claims
Zara told her followers that while much of her time on Strictly was “everything I could have imagined” in the training room with Graziano, there were “certain incidents that were incredibly painful”.
Last summer, Strictly struggled to stay out of the headlines as more and more alumni of the show came forward to share their stories.
In 2014, Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional Strictly Come Dancing partner Ola Jordan, claiming she had ‘bullied’ him.
Meanwhile, Ola’s husband James was furious when he hit back after footage emerged of him telling his partner Georgina Bouzova he would “drag her across the floor and shout at her” if she forgot her moves.
The 46-year-old ballroom dancer and choreographer hit out at the BBC after the clip resurfaced following the recent scandals surrounding Giovanni and Graziano, saying most of the footage had “nothing to do with Georgina at all”.
Professional Dancer Nadiya Bychkova also met with BBC bosses in July to complain about the show.
After Giovanni, the show was hit by a new wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott
Zara told her followers that while much of her time on Strictly was ‘everything I could have imagined’ in the training room with Graziano, there were ‘certain incidents that were incredibly painful’
Professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova also met with BBC bosses in July to complain about the show
According to the Mail, the Ukrainian beauty had contacted the Corporation’s leaders and was then quickly invited for a face-to-face meeting to discuss her concerns.
She was said to be ‘angry’ about certain matters relating to the Saturday night dance show and was keen to discuss them with the BBC.
As controversy swirled around the show, the toxicity of the once beloved Saturday night show began to pose a serious barrier for women.
The result was that when the list of celebrities was announced, for the first time there was a strikingly uneven gender distribution: six women to nine men.
There has been speculation that influencer GK Barry, real name Grace Keeling, would definitely sign, as would former Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts.
Former Lioness Jill Scott, known as a staunch feminist, was also in the running.
And new Blue Peter presenter Shini Muthukrishnan is said to be on the verge of joining, but none of them have actually signed up.
The new series also for the first time in five years no gay couples to be seen,
Producers reportedly made the decision earlier this month, with some insiders suggesting it was a way to return the popular BBC1 show to its traditional roots after a string of high-profile scandals.
According to a source, the broadcaster wants to be seen as “inclusive and progressive”, but executives realise that not everyone will like homosexual relationships.
It may have been a tough year for the show, but this week the show finally had something to celebrate when they scooped the Talent Show award at the National Television Awards on Wednesday night
It may have been a tough year for the show, but this week the show finally had something to celebrate when it took out the Talent Show award at the National Television Awards on Wednesday night.
The BBC show beat Britain’s Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off, MasterChef and The Voice to win one of the biggest prizes of the night.
The NTAs are voted for by the public, and Strictly’s win is a clear sign that viewers are still behind the show, which is gearing up to return for its 20th series on Saturday night.
Host Tess took to the stage and gave her speech, telling the audience: ‘Everyone who works on this show would like to say the biggest and most sincere thank you to everyone who watched at home and voted for us. It means the world to us!’
‘This Saturday we’re celebrating 20 years on Strictly, 20 years, with our launch show. So this is a wonderful gift.’
