Strictly’s first female pro dancer under fire over alleged bullying – amid claims she screamed in celeb partner’s face
THE first female professional dancer has been become embroiled in Strictly’s misconduct scandal.
The unnamed dancer is facing allegations of “bullying” from an ex celebrity partner.
He claims she “screamed in his face in a rage” if he failed to learn the steps, the Mirror reports.
It’s believed his complaint will be sent to legal firm Carter Ruck by Monday.
A source said: “The man in question felt very much victimised by the behaviour of his Strictly partner.
“He alleges that on several occasions she flew into a real fury when he couldn’t get the steps right, and on one occasion screamed full in his face. They rowed every single day.
“He was left upset, struggling to sleep, and feeling isolated in the process. But even worse, he felt totally unsupported by Strictly. When he suffered the setback, it was clear he was struggling, but he felt there was no duty of care. After leaving the show, he was not contacted again, even by phone.”
It’s said that the male celebrity was “seriously impacted” by the alleged verbal abuse.
Lawyers Carter Ruck are also acting for a number of former celebrity contestants including Amanda Abbington and Laura Whitmore.
Giovanni Pernice quit the show after a probe was launched into alleged misconduct.
Most recently, Graziano Di Prima was sacked for kicking his partner Zara McDermott in rehearsals.
The female celebrity is not believed to have been accused of physical abuse.
it comes as Amanda Abbington breaks silence about “cruel and abusive” Giovanni Pernice to The Sun on Sunday.
The Sherlock actress, 50, complained to the BBC that she endured five weeks of inappropriate behaviour on the last series, before pulling out and being diagnosed with PTSD.
The BBC admitted it had launched an internal probe into the matter, triggering the biggest crisis in the Bafta- winning show’s 20-year history.
They have taken on two ex-Met detectives to interview celebs, dancers and show staff, past and present.
The BBC inquiry has been told that an exec had said at a meeting that Giovanni’s behaviour towards Amanda was “unacceptable and shocking”.
A BBC spokesman told the paper: “We will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us.
“The BBC and BBC Studios take duty of care extremely seriously.”
