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Privacy NoticeThis year marks the 20th anniversary of Strictly Come Dancing – a massively popular fixture on Saturday night TV schedules since 2004 which has consistently achieved high ratings. However, this year the hit BBC show has been somewhat overshadowed by a series of controversies, involving the behaviour and conduct on the show of certain dancers, leading to calls for it to be axed. The controversy began last month when the BBC announced an investigation into professional dancer Giovanni Pernice and his alleged conduct towards his 2023 partner, Amanda Abbingdon.
Tes and Claudia will be back co-hosting come September in the show’s milestone year
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
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As a result, Gio will not be part of this year’s lineup and the outcome of the investigation is still pending. Viewers have been left reeling today after the announcement that Scillian Strictly pro dancer, Graziano Di Prima has had his contract terminated due to allegations of misconduct towards his partner Zara McDermott in the 2023 series. The pair who were eliminated in week 6, he later acknowledged in an Instagram message that his intense passion and determination to win may have impacted his training regime, but it was production staff who raised concerns, not his partner Zara. Regardless of the outcome of the Giovanni Pernice investigation, these incidents have created significant problems for the show this year.
Amanda Abbington quit early last year and went on to make claims about her partner Giovanni’s training
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
And PR expert Lynn Carratt of Pressbox PR told OK!: “The BBC want to “celebrate the triumphant of the show this year, they want it to be a television spectacular”. She said: “The current controversies are overshadowing the upcoming series for viewers, and social media is fuelling the fire of the allegations, but no one knows the truth of the allegations and there are two sides to every story, so the BBC had no choice but to investigate as they have a duty of care to the professionals and celebrities. Lynn went on: “They, too, want to avoid tarnishing the reputation of one of the network’s strongest shows. It’s a very high-profile show, and there’s public interest in what happens behind the scenes. And I believe the controversy is not over yet. I think it has a long way to go, and I think, eventually, the public will hear all sides of the story. But at the moment, the BBC has to abide by their internal processes.”
Lynn Carratt of Pressbox PR believes Strictly will survive the latest drama – as the show is ‘bigger than any of it’s celebs or even judges’
(Image: PA)
But the show must go on and despite all the unwanted drama, the PR professional believes Strictly will more than survive this latest controversy. “While the 20th anniversary is being somewhat overshadowed at the moment, the show and the brand is bigger than any of its dancers, celebrities and even star judges. If the new series comes back with a bang and the viewers are on board and ratings are high, I don’t think we will see a lasting impact on the show from this – and hopefully in another 20 years time, we’ll be celebrating 40 years of the glitterball.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGiovanni PerniceZara McdermottStrictly Come DancingDramaGraziano Di PrimaAmanda AbbingtonTess DalyClaudia Winkleman
