Yahoo News Dermot O'Leary says 'autonomy' of Strictly pros 'seems to have gone too far'
The Strictly Come Dancing scandal was again in the spotlight on This Morning after new interviews with former contestant Amanda Abbington.
Watch Dermot O'Leary say 'autonomy' of Strictly pros 'seems to have gone too far'
What did you miss?
Dermot O'Leary has claimed that the "level of autonomy" given to professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing may have to change in the wake of allegations of abuse. The presenter said that the professionals' freedom to shape training "seems to have gone too far".
O'Leary spoke as part of This Morning's news review segment, in which he and co-presenter Alison Hammond discussed the latest allegations by Amanda Abbington about her treatment at the hands of professional dancer Giovanni Pernice. Her claims are currently subject to a BBC review process.
What, how and why?
The This Morning panel spoke about a series of interviews given by Abbington, in which she claimed she had received death and rape threats since going public with her allegations against Pernice, who has since been axed from the show.
Abbington said there is 50 hours of rehearsal room footage to support her allegations. She made clear that she loves Strictly as an institution, but wants the show to acknowledge the bad behaviour to which she claims she was subjected.
O'Leary joined the debate, explaining that he finds the issue "difficult" to talk about because he has friends who work on the show who are "good people who genuinely care passionately about their contestants".
He added: "For what it's worth, I think there's just a level of autonomy given to these dancers. They're your choreographer, they're your mentor, they're your teacher. It's a level of autonomy that obviously seems to have gone too far."
During the course of her allegations, Abbington has referred to Pernice as "abusive and cruel" and said she would often return home feeling ill and vomit following rehearsals. Pernice has denied that he was ever abusive or threatening towards her.
The scandal has since drawn in other dancers on the show, with Graziano Di Prima cut from the new series after allegations of his misconduct towards contestant Zara McDermott. In a statement, Di Prima admitted kicking McDermott and apologised. An unnamed third dancer, who is no longer a part of the show, has also become a "person of interest" in the BBC's ongoing investigation.
O'Leary added that "we send [Abbington] all our love" after her heart-breaking interviews with both Channel 4 News and ITV show Lorraine.
How have the BBC and Pernice responded to the Strictly scandal?
The BBC has not yet responded to a request for a specific response to O'Leary's comments, but their most recent statement regarding Abbington's allegations is as follows.
"Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. 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."
In response to Abbington's new interviews, a statement by representatives for Pernice said: "We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes. We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed.
"As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this."
