Strictly: Life inside rehearsals amid Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima fallout

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kristina Rihanoff has welcomed the BBC’s decision to provide stars with chaperones during rehearsals, following complaints about two other dancers on the show.

Speaking to BBC News, she said she believed celebrities would now feel “a bit more comfortable” about signing up to the show.

Rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressured,” she said, adding that celebrities would feel “comfortable knowing that someone would be watching and observing the situations.”

Strictly has been hit by a series of damaging allegations surrounding former dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.

Earlier this week, as new revelations emerged, the BBC announced that it would be placing a member of the Strictly production team in all future rehearsals, and that there would also be two new producers dedicated to welfare.

The company said it would always take any issues seriously and take action when it becomes aware of inappropriate behavior.

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Rihanoff, who was on the show between 2008 and 2015, said the new measures were “better now than ever.”

The cameras were “really the answer to everything, because they’re there and you can’t escape them.”

During his time on the show, Rihanoff collaborated with celebrities including political presenter and author John Sergeant, boxer Joe Calzaghe, Blue singer Simon Webbe, Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan and rugby player Ben Cohen.

Reflecting on her time on Strictly, she described it as “wonderful” but also “challenging”.

Rehearsals were exhausting and dance partners sometimes had to “walk away from each other” in frustrating moments, she said.

The pressure increased as the couples got closer to the finale, she said.

“You have to learn a lot of different dances and you’re already exhausted, as is your celebrity partner, and you’re just feeling the heat,” Rihanoff said.

“It’s a very, very stressful environment and a lot of dancers have mental health issues.”

She said she believed celebrities needed to be made aware that the show was “not a walk in the park.”

But she added that there was “never any excuse for violence.”

“We all feel frustrated,” she said. “It’s a normal feeling, we can’t deny that we suffer from it, but it depends on how we manage that frustration.

“You shouldn’t really dwell on your fame. You can just say, ‘OK, let’s take a moment. Let’s step away, have a cup of tea and start again in a few minutes.'”

She added that the dancers had to “stay professional” as they prepared the celebrities for their Saturday night performances.

“I really can’t find any reason to justify unpleasant behavior.”

Strictly has been at the centre of controversy following complaints about Pernice as well as Di Prima.

On Tuesday, TV star Zara McDermott, who was partnered with Di Prima last year, said she had been involved in incidents in the Strictly training room that she now finds “incredibly distressing” to relive.

Di Prima spokesman Mark Borkowski said the news focused on an isolated incident that the dancer deeply regrets and for which he has apologized.

“There’s never a time when it’s right to kick, or to feel that way,” Mr Borkowski told BBC News. “And he knows that.”

But McDermott’s spokesperson said on Thursday: “Zara has already confirmed in a statement posted on its social media channels earlier this week that the reported behaviour was not an isolated incident.”

Neither Pernice nor Di Prima were retained in this year’s Strictly line-up.

TV presenter Rev Richard Coles, who appeared on the show in 2017, told BBC Breakfast he was “not surprised” by the revelations.

“At the heart of the Strictly experience is this intense relationship you have with your dancer, and a lot of that (happens) without you observing it,” he said.

“It gets very intimate and very physical in a way that I think sometimes surprises people.”

Like Rihanoff, he welcomed the decision to introduce chaperones.

“I think it’s good for the contestants. I also think it’s good for the dancers,” he said.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, TV presenter Richard Madeley said that people he knows who are involved in the show “all talk about these issues, and they say they’ve all known about it for years and years and years.”

He added that “the lid was kept on it, but now it is falling off.”

Talent agent Sue Ayton, who represents celebrities including Angela Rippon, who appeared in last year’s series, said the BBC’s duty of care measures had been “exemplary”.

However, she told BBC Radio 4’s Media Show that she and Rippon both understood “the hard training, the hard work. So we went into it with our eyes wide open. We’ve both worked with dancers, we know how hard it is.

“We know they have to turn people into professional dancers in a very short time.”

Lorraine Heggessey, former head of control at BBC One, which commissioned Strictly, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “very sad” that “a line has clearly been crossed”.

“But I think what’s important is that the BBC deals with this matter quickly and puts measures in place to ensure that these things don’t happen again.”

The allegations have cast a shadow over the show as it marks its 20th anniversary, and the celebrity line-up for this year’s series is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“I think Strictly can overcome this situation,” Heggessey said. “I think we should hold on to all the positives, deal with it and move on.”

In a statement, Kate Phillips, director of Unscripted at the BBC, said: “While we know our shows have been positive experiences for the vast majority of those who have taken part in them, if concerns are raised with us or we are made aware of inappropriate behaviour we will always take this seriously and take action.

“The concerns that have arisen are primarily related to training and rehearsals. The decisive measures we have taken and are being announced today further strengthen the wellbeing and support in place for everyone involved in this production.”