Strictly dancers all smiles as they arrive at rehearsals after Amanda Abbington’s bombshell Giovanni interview
STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stars are keeping calm and carrying on as the drama around the series rumbles on.
It seems it’s business as usual for the professional cast, just a day after former celeb star Krishnan Guru-Murthy held a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington about her time on the series for Channel 4 News.
On spotting the cameras outside the London studio, Nancy Xu joked around with photographers, wrapping her hair in a satin scarf and beaming.
Wearing a floorlength black dress, white boots and a biker jacket, Nancy shook off any sign of stress or trouble to pose for the cameras and giving them a thumbs up.
She later strutted inside ready for the day’s work.
Lauren Oakley, who was partnered with journalist Krishnan, kept her headphones in as she looked slick and cool in a band t-shirt and cycle shorts, flashing a smile as she arrived.
Johannes Radebe also seemed in good spirits, looking effortlessly cool in a blue button up shirt.
Katya Jones gave her all-black training gear a glow-up by throwing a bright red blazer over the top, keeping on sunglasses and talking animatedly on the phone as she arrived.
Dianne Buswell looked inspired by the 90s with a black joker and black waistcoat, heading on a coffee run before starting the day.
The group have been under immense pressure this year as, on top of it being the 20th anniversary of the show, the beloved series has been dogged with issues and complaints.
The investigation, which is still ongoing, has already resulted in the removal of former fan favourites Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima from the line-up.
Amanda, who was partnered with Giovanni Pernice last year, has filed an official complaint against the star over behaviour she experienced while in the rehearsal room with him.
On Wednesday evening, she did a tell-all interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy in which she made bombshell claims including Giovanni made practice ‘dangerously unworkable’ and that she had been subject to abuse that had been “sexually humiliating” in nature.
She also claimed five or six of his former partners had also had similar things happen to them, and that 50 hours of rehearsal footage has been withheld from both her and her lawyer.
Three complaints against Giovanni Pernice kickstarted a BBC deep investigation, although he maintains he has done nothing wrong and has vowed to clear his name.
Official rehearsals for this year’s series started on Monday, ahead of the first line-up announcements and show launch, which typically begins in September.
However, just a day into training, the professional dancers were allegedly rushed into their rehearsal studio when an intruder reportedly tried to scale a wall at the London property.
A source told The Sun: “The incident was dealt with very quickly and nobody came to any harm, but security always treat the wellbeing of the show’s talent with the upmost importance so they couldn’t take any chances.
“Rehearsals continued as normal as the dancers didn’t notice any interruptions.”
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
