When the presenter Tess Daly high-kicked off the first episode of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, warning viewers, “Don’t let the beautiful costumes and fancy footwork fool you, because behind those smiles it is blood, sweat and tears”, she could not have envisaged how darkly apposite those words would seem today.
The hit BBC series, which returns next month, is celebrating its 20th anniversary but now finds itself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Two of its dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, are missing from the lineup after allegations of abusive behaviour, which they deny, and the BBC is investigating conduct and culture on the show.
