Audiences won’t just forget bullying controversy once Strictly returns, admits co-creator
Audiences will not just forget Strictly’s bullying now that the show is back on air, its co-creator has admitted.
Karen Smith, the co-creator of Strictly Come Dancing has expressed hope that, while the show’s recent controversies will not be immediately forgotten, the programme can “recover and move forward”.
Smith, who is also the show’s executive producer, told BBC News: “I’m not going to say that once the show is on air, everyone will forget about it.
“But hopefully people can recover and move forward and learn from it, and remember that Strictly is fabulous, and people love it, people love taking part in it, they love watching it.”
After a tumultuous year, the BBC One dance contest will return to viewer’s screens on Sep 14.
Along with a brand new set of celebrities on the dance floor, there will also be a change to the line-up of professional dancers. Two performers – Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima – left the show after allegations were made about their behaviour during training.
A number of contestants including Amanda Abbington, the Sherlock actress, made allegations about the way they were mistreated on the show.
Abbington claimed Pernice, her dance partner at the time, had acted in an “abusive, cruel and mean” way during training.
Pernice has called the accusations “simply false” and said he rejects “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”.
Prima, who left the show following allegations of his behaviour towards Zara McDermott, has admitted to kicking her in “an isolated incident” which he “deeply regrets and apologised for at the time”.
In response to the scandal, this series will see chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, as well as two new dedicated welfare producers.
The corporation’s report into the allegations against Pernice will not be released until after the new season has started airing.
While BBC sources insisted that there is no deliberate delay, executives are perhaps hoping that viewers’ interest in the new batch of contestants will detract from the findings when they are eventually published.
In the first episode, Paul Merson, the footballer, Nick Knowles, the TV presenter, and Sam Quek, the Olympic gold medallist, will take to the dancefloor.
Once the pairings have been announced, the celebrities and professionals will perform a group routine, before the live shows begin next week.
Smith stressed that it was “familiarity” with the show’s format that kept audiences returning, saying: “The hosts might change or the judges might change, the celebrities are new, but Strictly is always the same.
“People look forward to the series coming back.”
But while there will be no change to the judging panel and many other aspects of the show – including the usual theme weeks, it remains to be seen whether the programme’s popularity will withstand the latest scandal.
TV bosses may have been reassured by Strictly’s triumph at this week’s National Television Awards where the show was voted Best Talent Show by the public.
“Strictly is the best of what the BBC does and people value it, and they look forward to it, and they schedule their weekend around it, and they care,” Smith told BBC News.
She said it was “terrible” to think of the “upset” that has been caused, not only to celebrities and dancers who have been affected, but also to the production team and the viewers.
But she added: “It would be a shame if it was picked apart to death and was allowed to die.
“Because journalists, if you keep picking and you keep criticising, you could end up killing the show that you spend weeks and months of the year talking about. So, be careful.”
The BBC corporation has insisted it would always take any issues seriously, and act when made aware of inappropriate behaviour.
Pernice – who has since signed up as a dancer on the Italian version of the show – added that he is: “looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth.”