STRICTLY’S The Professionals tour has been axed amid the probe into alleged misconduct by star dancers on the TV show.
The verdict of the internal investigation is due to be published within days.
And a source who worked on the live stage productions said the tour was cancelled after the allegations, which include workplace bullying.
The insider said: “Strictly is trying to rebuild as a brand and The Professionals tour was known as a hotbed of drinking and fun.
“The pro dancers work hard and play hard but with everything that’s happened recently, it seems axing it eliminates the chance of any further issues.
“The people who usually work on The Professionals tour have been told it’s cancelled.”
Dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, who both left Strictly this year following accusations over their conduct, have appeared on The Professionals tour.
Put on by BBC Studios, it is choreographed by Strictly’s creative director Jason Gilkison and has also featured pros including Nadiya Bychkova, Vitto Coppola, Katya Jones and Luba Mushtuck.
It started in 2010 and takes place over spring and summer after the Strictly Live! tour, which features the pros and their celeb partners.
Last year, The Professionals shows featured 12 dancers for the first time, including Giovanni.
He denies allegations he bullied his ex-celebrity partner Amanda Abbington and quit Strictly in May.
On Monday, The Sun revealed returning pro dancer Aljaž Škorjanec had left the BBC show following an incident with a female dancer on the 2022 Live! tour.
He announced he was leaving Strictly a month after that tour finished.
But he has now returned for the upcoming series of Strictly and has been paired with Love Island star Tasha Ghouri.
Insiders said they were baffled as to why Aljaž had been invited back.
They added: “Execs would have to be living in a cave not to have heard the rumours.”
A representative for Aljaž insisted he had done nothing wrong and told The Sun: “Aljaž has the utmost respect for everyone working on the show and it is untrue to say he was forced out or acted in an aggressive manner at any time.”
A spokesperson said: “Due to artist availability, the UK tour of Strictly The Professionals is taking a break next year, and plans are currently being finalised for 2026.
“Tickets for the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour will be on sale soon and booking information will be announced in the coming weeks.”
Strictly must emerge like phoenix from the ashes
By Ellie Henman
STRICTLY has been through the ringer over the past year and has emerged battered, bruised but just about intact.
And as the stars of this year’s series begin training, change is afoot.
The Professionals tour, a highlight for me of every Strictly season, has been canned and won’t happen next year.
The decision to “rest” the live show, according to its trusted and respectable PR, is simply down to an inability to line up the pro’s demanding schedules, with the promise it will return in 2026.
The Live show, with the celebrities, will still go ahead as usual.
My contact, who is part of the live shows and rang me with the news about the cancellation, tells me resting the annual event is the best thing for everyone right now.
The tours, both the Live version and the Professionals event, are, they say, a hotbed of boozy nights and fun.
The pros play as hard as they work and, in light of the news stories about the show’s major players, the last thing the BBC needs is something else to tarnish the magic and sparkle of Strictly.
I’m a huge fan of the show and love sitting down on a Saturday night to watch the celebs and the pros take on challenging routines.
And I’ve been lucky enough to be in the audience in 2019 when Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse picked up the Glitterball trophy.
But the exceptionally sourced stories from my brilliant Sun On Sun colleague Hannah Hope, and my incredible boss Clemmie Moodie, about the recent scandals have made for difficult reading for us fans.
Together Hannah and Clemmie brought you the first bombshell story about Amanda Abbington’s complaint against Giovanni Pernice during last year’s series, which led to the BBC’s internal probe into the show.
Alongside this they reported on the other female celebrities who had raised concerns and first revealed how Graziano Di Prima had been sacked after kicking his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
My tenacious colleague Felicity Cross also revealed this week the inside story behind Aljaž Škorjanec’s shock departure in 2022.
Reading their articles and talking to them about what had really been going on behind-the-scenes on Strictly has been shocking, and sad, at times.
The BBC are standing by the show and hope that they can restore Strictly to its former glory.
And no one wants this more than the fans.
Ultimately, we all just want to “Keep dancing,” and with the new measures rolled out by the BBC to stamp out bad behaviour, I truly hope that by the end of the year Strictly will emerge like a phoenix from the ashes.
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Source: CNN
