Strictly Come Dancing’s Kevin Clifton predicted the controversies the reality show is now facing in an unearthed interview from 2021.
This year, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima faced allegations of mistreating their celebrity dance partners.
Giovanni denied any wrongdoing, while Graziano, 30, expressed regret for his actions.
Now, actor and dancer Kevin, 41, has unknowingly weighed in on the discussion of whether or not professionals on Strictly are taking things too far.
In a 2021 chat, Kevin was asked by a fan if, when not on camera, interactions between professionals and celebrities changed.
Kevin said: ‘Well, there was a famous one before I was on the show when LuLu was paired with Brendan and she basically said on the show: “Oh no, I didn’t want to get paired with him.” And everybody was like: “Oh, great!”
He continued: ‘It doesn’t happen very often, [but] I have seen it. I won’t name names, but I have seen it from someone who was not happy with their pairing and they made it quite obvious.’
Appearing on Strictly from 2013 to 2019, Kevin found love in 2018 after he was paired with documentary film maker Stacey Dooley.
They won their series and entered into a romantic relationship the year after, welcoming their daughter Minnie, 18 months, in 2023.
Kevin’s resurfaced interview comes after it was reported on Saturday that Strictly professionals will be required to undergo weekly psychological tests during the upcoming series, as the scandal-hit show continues to battle abuse claims.
Next year’s contestants, who reportedly include TOWIE star Pete Wicks, 36, DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles, 61, and soap star Jamie Borthwick, 30, , who won the 2023 Strictly Christmas special, will sit down with mental health experts frequently during their time under the glitterball.
Blind comedian Chris McCausland, 47, and Death In Paradise actor Ralf Little, 44, are also believed to be taking to the dancefloor in the upcoming series.
And while celebrities may be eager to get their dancing shoes on, the Mirror has reported that the new season will have psychological checks to ensure they can handle the mental strain of learning new dances every week.
A source told the publication: ‘It will give them a safe space to voice any concerns they have – and just feel listened to.
‘As well as allowing Beeb bosses to monitor how the celebrities are coping with the pressures of the show.’
The requirement will not only provide more protection for celebrities, but it will also help support the professional dancers.
Their worries have reportedly increased since the bullying claims made from Amanda Abbington about Giovanni.
It comes just days after Strictly Come was plunged into further crisis on Wednesday after Amanda claimed that Giovannin was trying to block the release of up to 50 hours of ‘toxic’ footage’ following her bullying complaint to the BBC.
In an emotionally charged interview, the actress, 50, compared the dance show to ‘the trenches’ telling Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left ‘horrified’ by clips that also allegedly exhibited ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’.
The Sherlock star sensationally quit the dance competition last year citing ‘personal reasons’ before reports surfaced that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals after the experience with the show and her dance partner left her with PTSD.
Giovanni, who has strongly denied any threatening or abusive behaviour, was later suspended, with the BBC later launching a probe over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda as well as other celebrities.
Yet, in a dramatic twist in the Strictly saga, the actress has claimed Giovanni tried to stop her legal team from accessing the video ‘evidence’ after producers were forced to put cameras in the dance studio after Amanda raised concerns.
‘There’s 50 hours of footage that’s being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic,’ she told presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
‘It’s out there. There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I’m not the one who’s blocking it. I’ve said anyone can watch it, but he (Giovanni) doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if he’s got nothing to hide.’
A spokesperson for Giovanni told MailOnline at the time: ‘We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations.’
The actress said that cameras were installed into her and Giovanni’s rehearsal studio after she raised concerns after the first week of practice with producers wanting to review the footage each week to assess what was ‘going on’ between the pair.
Giovanni had claimed he had asked for the cameras, which Amanda says is untrue.
He has constantly refuted the allegations and denied any accusations of threatening or abusive behaviour.
A spokesperson for the dancer said he had provided a dossier of evidence to the investigators and ‘remains fully confident in clearing his name’.
In response to Amanda’s latest interview, a spokesperson for the BBC said: ‘Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals.’
‘As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation. More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously.
‘Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.
The BBC continued: ‘The BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously…last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.’
Rehearsals for the new series began on Monday and professionals, including Johannes Radebe, Amy Dowden and Dianne Buswell, were all smiles despite everything as they arrived at a London dance studio.
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Source: Los Angeles Times1
