Zara McDermott had a nickname for Strictly pro Graziano Di Prima (Image: zara_mcdermott/Instagram)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeIt appears that Zara McDermott had a unique nickname for Graziano Di Prima during their time on Strictly, which could have hinted at some backstage drama. The 30 year old referred to him as “sweet and sour” due to his quick temper in a past joint interview. Zara explained: “What do we call you? Sweet and Sour. Yes Sweet and Sour. He is very, very very sweet and then sometimes… to be fair when you have told me something 52,000 times and I still get it wrong, you look at me like… and I still get it wrong.” Graziano also shared how Zara’s constant water drinking during rehearsals and before their live performances on Saturday nights irritated him. When asked about her pre-performance rituals, he said: “I know what yours is. You keep drinking water. She has got an obsession with water and lip balm. Every-time she is stressed she put the lip balm on. She is like, ‘I need to go to the loo’ and I am like, ‘We need to dance in three seconds.’ The revelation of this nickname comes as BBC producers reportedly expressed concern to Zara after observing Giovanni’s verbal abuse during rehearsals.
BBC producers have reportedly raised concern about Giovanni’s behaviour with Zara on Strictly
(Image: Justin Polkey/OK!)
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Giovanni was then let go from the show over allegations of gross misconduct. He admitted that his desire to win may have influenced his training style, reports the Mirror. And, Zara recently opened up about her distressing experiences behind the scenes on the show. She revealed that some footage of her during training sessions for the BBC programme last year was “incredibly distressing to watch”. This followed another incident where pro dancer Giovanni Pernice was removed from Strictly due to separate allegations about his conduct, which he refutes. In an effort to salvage the show, BBC bosses have implemented changes.
Graziano has now left Strictly
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Producers have now introduced a chaperone into every session to oversee all interactions between the celebrities and the professional dancers. The BBC has introduced two new welfare roles to support the stars and professional dancers on Strictly Zara, who is a familiar face on BBC from her documentaries, opened up to her two million Instagram fans about her experience.
Zara McDermott made a heartbreaking statement
(Image: Instagram/zara_mcdermott)
She wrote: “I felt it was right that I post something regarding the recent media reports. 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 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.” “So much of my Strictly experience was everything I could have dreamed of. The entire production team and everyone behind the scenes as well as my fellow contestants were so amazing to work 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 incredibly distressing to watch.”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 DancingDrama
