Strictly Come Dancing creator says 'be careful' as she responds to show criticism

Strictly Come Dancing's co-creator, Karen Smith, said criticism of the programme "could end up killing it." Strictly returns tonight on BBC ONE for its 20th anniversary.

The BBC launched an investigation following allegations made about Giovanni Pernice by 2023 Strictly participant Amanda Abbington, but the findings are yet to be revealed. Amanda was the first to allege "inappropriate" behaviour on the show publically and claimed she was subjected to a "toxic environment" while she danced alongside Giovanni.

Giovanni strongly rejected the allegations and left the show. Fellow dancer Graziano Di Prima also departed. Former Strictly executive producer Karen Smith told BBC News: "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."

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She said it was "terrible" to think of how the production, celebrities and dancers felt, and 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."

Karen also hoped "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". The BBC's new welfare measures include a chaperone who will be present "at all times" during rehearsals.

The new series will also see the return of professional dancer Amy Dowden after being diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023, when she found a lump the day before her honeymoon, and missed out on having a celebrity partner in that year's series of Strictly.