A Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer who has left the show over allegations of “gross misconduct” has admitted that he kicked his dance partner, Zara McDermott. A spokesman for Graziano Di Prima confirmed to the BBC that the kick did happen, saying: “There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right.” The spokesperson added: “He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologized at the time,” and added that rehearsals can be “intense,” as reported by Deadline.
Former Love Island contestant, McDermott, shared her own statement on the incident, saying she found videos of the events “incredibly distressing” to watch. On Instagram, McDermott said: “I have wrestled with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming. But after a lot of conversations with those I love, I’ve gained the strength to face these fears, and when I was asked to speak to the BBC, I spoke candidly about my time on the show.”
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Since the incident, the BBC has introduced safety measures. Other contestants have raised “distressing” about their dance partners.
Some of the new changes implemented include a welfare producer for each of the contestants, a team member present in the training room during rehearsals, and more training for the production team and the show’s crew members.
Strictly Come Dancing first premiered in 2004, and is considered the UK’s version of Dancing With the Stars. The reality dance competition has been on for 21 seasons. Di Prima joined the lineup in 2018 as a pro. The BBC spokesperson said Di Prima did not remember the incident that occurred last year but accepted responsibility and said he “crossed the line.”
Per The Guardian, he denied reports that Di Prima spat on McDermott but that Di Prima “does remember that he was pushing [McDermott] quite hard” in training on the day in question, the rep said. “But he doesn’t recognize some of the issues surrounding it. The descriptions of what is being commented online, and how he remembers it, are not aligned.”
