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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
William Mata

Strictly’s first female pro dancer faces bullying accusations

A female professional dancer has become embroiled in the Strictly Come Dancing misconduct scandal, marking the first such accusation against a woman on the show.

The unnamed dancer is alleged to have bullied her celebrity partner, reportedly "screaming in the face" of the contestant when he struggled to master dance routines.

According to The Sun, a formal claim is being prepared and is set to be submitted to the legal firm Carter Ruck on Monday.

A damaging summer for the show has already seen male professionals Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice leave in acrimonious circumstances.

Carter Ruck is also said to be working on claims put forward by former female contestants including Amanda Abbington and Laura Whitmore.

Unlike Di Prima, however, who is said to have kicked his partner, the female in question is not thought to have been physically abusive.

Graziano Di Prima has left Strictly (PA Wire)
(PA Archive)

A source told the Sun: “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.”

They added: “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.”

The BBC has said it is working with the Met Police to get to the bottom of the complaints.

A statement added: “We will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us.

"The BBC and BBC Studios take their duty of care extremely seriously.”

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