Strictly Come Dancing is returning to screens later this month following a year of controversy regarding claims surrounding behind-the-scenes rehearsals and training on the BBC favourite.
An investigation into the series was launched after last year’s celebrity contestant, actress Amanda Abbington, made claims about her dance partner Giovanni Pernice’s “misconduct,” which led to his exit from the show and was followed shortly after by Graziano Di Prima’s axe. Now, a former professional on the series has shared his thoughts on historic training methods used by dancers.
The build-up to the upcoming series of the competition has been marred by the accusations, which increased following 52-year-old Abbington’s claims.
Pernice, 33, continues to vehemently deny any wrongdoing and has now been confirmed as a a professional on Italy’s version of the show, Ballando cone le Stelle.
Dancer Ian Waite, 53, insisted there was “nothing abusive” about traditional training techniques as he reflected on his own experience on the show and in the dance world.
When asked about the scandals, he told GB News*: “In my own experience, I’ve never seen anything like that. It wasn’t quite as big a show when I was on it, so there wasn’t as much pressure.
“I don’t think that’s an excuse necessarily, but I think that there are lots of elements which create pressure, and that’s hard when people get tired further down the line.
“I only ever experienced great things. My celebrities went through highs and lows where they struggled and then they broke into tears, but then they improved and we had senses of elation.”
The Latin American dance specialist continued: “You always had ups and downs, but certainly with teaching techniques, when I was a young lad going to London for lessons, the teaching culture was always quite hard when first learning to dance.
“In those days, they would shout at you, and poke and prod you into position. There was nothing inappropriate or abusive in those methods at that time, it was just to make you a better dancer.
“I think there are different teaching techniques and this incident didn’t reach the appropriate standard, but I certainly haven’t experienced it on Strictly. It’s always been a wholesome, fun, enjoyable show.”
Waite started dancing at the age of 10, and starred in Strictly from 2004 to 2010 before leaving the show.
In the same interview, Waite also defended the various celebrity line-ups which have seen a backlash from the public.
There have been several occasions, this year included, where the show has been blasted due to the level of stardom of some of the famous faces, with many arguing the upcoming 20th anniversary series had “the worst line up ever”.
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Waite stated: “A lot of people say they don’t know many of the celebrities when they first come on the show, and, by the end of it, they love them and they’ve fallen in love with their character.
“They’ve fallen in love with the charisma of the couple, and I think that’s what hooks people onto the show.
“I do think it’ll be here in 10 years time, just because the format is so brilliant and it captures the imagination of the audience.”
*Waite was speaking to GB News on behalf of Buzz Bingo.
