Strictly: Life in rehearsals amid Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima fallout

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kristina Rihanoff has welcomed the BBC’s decision to provide stars with daters during rehearsals, following complaints about two fellow dancers on the show.

Speaking to BBC News, he said he thought celebrities would now “feel a bit more comfortable” about signing up for the programme.

Rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressureful,” she said, adding that celebrities felt “reassured knowing there would be someone watching and observing the situations.”

Strictly has been hit by a series of damaging allegations against former dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.

Earlier this week, as more revelations came to light, the BBC announced it would include a member of Strictly production staff in all future rehearsals and that there would also be two new producers dedicated to social care.

He insisted that he would always take any problem seriously and act when he became aware of inappropriate behavior.

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Rihanoff, who was on the show from 2008 to 2015, said the new measures were “better now than ever.”

Cameras were “the answer to everything, really, because they’re there and you can’t escape them.”

During her time on the show, Rihanoff collaborated with celebrities including political broadcaster and author John Sergeant, boxer Joe Calzaghe, Blue singer Simon Webbe, Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan, and rugby player Ben Cohen.

Reflecting on her time on Strictly, she described it as “wonderful” but also “challenging”.

Rehearsals were grueling and dance partners sometimes had to “walk away from each other” at frustrating moments, she said.

The pressure increased as the couples approached the final, he said.

“You have to learn several different dances and you’re already exhausted and your famous partner is exhausted, and you’re just feeling the heat,” Rihanoff said.

“It’s a very high-pressure environment and many dancers have mental health issues.”

He said he felt it was necessary to explain to celebrities that the show was “not a walk in the park.”

But he added that “there was never any excuse for violence.”

“We all feel frustrated,” he said. “It’s a normal feeling, we can’t deny that we have it, but it’s a question of how we deal with that frustration.”

“You shouldn’t talk too much about your celebrity. You can just say, ‘Okay, let’s take a moment. Let’s step away from each other, have a cup of tea, and come back to it in a couple of minutes.'”

He added that the dancers had to “remain professional” as they prepared the celebrities for their Saturday night performances.

“I really can’t find any reason to justify such disgusting behavior.”

Strictly has been at the centre of controversy following complaints about Pernice and Di Prima.

On Tuesday, TV star Zara McDermott, who was Di Prima’s partner last year, said she was involved in incidents in the Strictly training room which she now finds “incredibly distressing” to rewatch.

Di Prima spokesman Mark Borkowski said the news agenda had focused on an isolated incident that the dancer deeply regrets and for which he has apologized.

“There’s never a moment when kicking, or having the feeling of kicking, is the right thing to do,” Borkowski told BBC News. “And he knows that.”

But McDermott’s spokesman said Thursday: “Zara has confirmed in a statement posted on social media earlier this week that the reported conduct was not a one-off incident.”

Both Pernice and Di Prima were left out of this year’s Strictly line-up.

Presenter Rev Richard Coles, who appeared on the show in 2017, told BBC Breakfast he was “not surprised” by the revelations.

“At the heart of the Strictly experience is this intense relationship you have with your dancer, and a lot of that happens without you even realising it,” he said.

“It gets very intimate and very physical, in ways that I think sometimes surprise people.”

Like Rihanoff, she welcomed the decision to introduce companions.

“I think it’s good for the contestants. I think it’s good for the dancers, too,” she said.

On Thursday, TV presenter Richard Madeley, who hosts Good Morning Britain, said people he knows who take part in the show “talk about these issues and say they’ve known about them for years and years”.

He added that “the lid has been kept on but now the lid is coming off.”

Talent agent Sue Ayton, who represents celebrities including Angela Rippon, who appeared in last year’s series, said the BBC’s safeguards had been “exemplary”.

However, she told BBC Radio 4’s Media Show that both she and Rippon understood “the tireless training, the hard work. So we approach it with eyes wide open. We’ve both worked with dancers, we know how difficult it is.”

“We know that in a short period of time, they have to turn people into, for all intents and purposes, professional dancers in a very short period of time.”

Lorraine Heggessey, former controller of BBC One, which commissioned Strictly, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “very sad” that “a line has clearly been crossed”.

“But I think the important thing is that the BBC is addressing the problem quickly and taking steps to ensure that these things don’t happen again.”

The allegations have cast a shadow over the series’ 20th anniversary, and the list of celebrities taking part in this year’s series is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“I think Strictly can get through this,” Heggessey said. “I think we should just hold on to all the positives, address the problem and move on.”

In a statement, Kate Phillips, director of BBC Unscripted, said: “While we know our programmes have been positive experiences for the vast majority of those who have taken part, if issues are raised or inappropriate behaviour is reported to us we will always take it seriously and act on it.

“The concerns that have been raised relate primarily to training and rehearsals. The decisive measures we have taken and are announcing today serve to further strengthen the well-being and support of all those involved in this production.”