Strictly star witnessed ‘people slamming doors and running down the street in tears’ during rehearsals

Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft has revealed she saw ‘doors being slammed and people in tears’ during her time on the show. The former tennis professional, 58, appeared on the 2023 season of the BBC series, where she was paired with pro dancer Johannes Radebe, 37. The pair made it all the way to the semi-final, with Annabel saying the experience was ‘life-changing’ and ‘extraordinary’ when they were eliminated.

However her season of the show was later marred by accusations made against pro dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, who have both since left the series. After a lengthy investigation by the BBC, complaints of verbal bullying and harassment made against Pernice by his dance partner Amanda Abbington where upheld. Meanwhile Di Prima was accused of ‘kicking and hitting’ partner Zara McDermott, with the Italian dancer apologising and adding he had ‘made a mistake’.

Reflecting on what she witnessed in the high-pressure environment, Annabel has now said it was not only Abbington who struggled during the series. At a recent event at The Barbican in London, she said another celebrity contestant allegedly ran off down the street in tears after an altercation. ‘There is a lot of stress behind the scenes,’ she said. ‘You were rehearsing next door to various couples and would see doors being slammed and somebody running off down the road and lots of tears,’ she added, as reported by The Sun.

Last year the BBC introduced measures to support the welfare of those taking part of the show. ‘Concerns that have arisen in recent months have been fundamentally about training and rehearsals. The actions we announce today are designed to address that,’ it was announced. It was then detailed that dance rehearsals would be monitored, with ‘a production team member present during training room rehearsals at all times.’.

Last month Pernice, who joined Strictly in 2015, expressed his hopes he could one day return to the show despite his belief it was unlikely. ‘I would love to go back to Strictly because Strictly changed my life. It is a massive show, but I don’t think they’re going to have me back. They’re not,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘I’m upset as well. It’s been a great, great, great ten years. I achieved everything. But it’s not my choice, it’s not my decision.’.

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