Has Strictly Come Dancing been tainted by scandal?
Three days into the rehearsals of 2023’s Strictly Come Dancing, actress Amanda Abbington complained about her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice.
A year later, the BBC apologised to Abbington and upheld verbal bullying and harassment complaints but cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression.
Over the summer, other former celebrities made complaints – Zara McDermott reported her partner, Graziano Di Prima, kicked her in rehearsals and junior staff told BBC News that the culture behind-the-scenes was “toxic”.
So, have these allegations, investigations and exposés tainted the magic of the BBC’s biggest show?
Nearly a million fewer people tuned into the launch show this year than last, although that is against a backdrop of all TV viewing falling year by year.
The BBC’s chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, said those first week figures weren’t accurate as “people watch in different ways”.
“A lot of people watch Strictly over the course of a week, so it’s absolutely in line with the ratings of last year.”
She added that she was “really, really happy with the way it’s going”.
In July, former contestant Rev Richard Coles called Strictly “a wonderful show with a dark heart”, but Moore doesn’t see it that way.
“Strictly has been an absolutely brilliant show, and for the majority of people it’s been the most amazing experience,” she said.
“Our record of duty of care, for everybody going through it, has been fantastic.”
‘Important you get the right outcome’
The hit BBC show has faced a rocky few months with a number of former celebrity contestants speaking up about their experiences.
Alongside Abbington and McDermott, TV presenter Laura Whitmore and paralympian Will Bayley have also spoken out about their experiences on the show.
As a result of complaints made, the BBC announced a new set of duty of care measures for the show – production team members are present during training at all times, there are two new welfare support roles and additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew.
But questions have been raised over why the BBC took a year to conclude its investigation into Abbington’s complaints.
Moore said the production team “dealt with the issues raised with the knowledge that they had at the time”, but when it became a formal complaint, an independent review was upheld.
“It has taken time because new evidence came to light during that process, but it was thoroughly looked at and was rigorous.
“It’s really important that you get the right outcome.”
‘Never watch it again’
Despite the new measures, not everyone felt confident that the show could recover.
As the allegations swirled earlier in the summer, some fans said they wouldn’t be watching the show anymore.
“Time to call it a day,” one told BBC News. “Totally disgraceful behaviour all round. I for one will never watch it again.”
“We’ve had enough of Strictly. As licence payers we should vote on its future,” said another.
One person said they were surprised the show was carrying on given the controversy. “Personally I feel that you should not have this year’s contest,” they said.
Others previously defended the show, pointing out it has been running for 20 years and has been – for the large part – scandal free, although that was before Monday’s report was published.
Some suggested that the stories that were emerging earlier this year could just be part of the “rough and tumble of TV”.
“There is nothing warm and cosy [about working in TV],” wrote one. “It’s deadlines, reshoots, angst but it’s full of adrenaline, adventure and it’s an amazing place to be.”
“Strictly runs on incredibly tight deadlines and needs to be run like a tight ship, and I congratulate all the staff who get this done,” said another.
On Monday, TV critic Scott Bryan called the Strictly saga a “damaging story” and said viewers really “care whether everyone on television has as good as an experience as the show likes to suggest”.
He added that only time will tell whether this “will cast a shadow on the current series of the programme and into the future”.
Pernice is now one of the professional dancers on Italy’s version of Strictly after the BBC has “given us a complete green light” to have him on, Ballando con le Stelle’s host Milly Carlucci said.
However, Moore told the BBC that “it is a matter for them to decide who they want to cast, and it’s not a matter for the BBC”.
This year’s contestants, for their part, have been keen to draw a line and move on.
Speaking at a press event ahead of the launch of the new series, which marks the show’s 20th anniversary, 1980s popstar Toyah Willcox said the Strictly team had “done absolutely everything” to make this series a good experience for them.
Former Love Islander Tasha Ghouri agreed, saying it was “about moving forward”.
Meanwhile, DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles has said it is “important” that complaints are listened to.
“And they have been, so that seems to me all good.”
As the show got under way earlier this month, there was no mention of any of the controversies by Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
That’s perhaps unsurprising. Millions of people watch Strictly to escape – and it might not have felt like the right time to talk about some of the very serious claims that had been made.
There was also a warning from the woman behind Strictly, urging critics of the show to “be careful”.
“It would be a shame if it was picked apart to death and was allowed to die,” Karen Smith, Strictly’s co-creator and first executive producer, told BBC News.
“Because journalists, if you keep picking and you keep criticising, you could end up killing the show that you spend weeks and months of the year talking about.”
So for now, the show goes on – and that, too, is unsurprising.
Strictly is the jewel in the BBC’s crown, and whatever the fluctuations in viewing figures, it remains one of the biggest shows on TV.
It’s hard to see what could replace it in that primetime Saturday night slot, especially in the run-up to Christmas, and the BBC will be hoping Monday’s report draws a line under a challenging few months.
