Strictly: Life inside rehearsals amid Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima fallout

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Kristina Rikhanoff has welcomed the BBC’s decision to provide chaperones for stars during rehearsals following complaints about two of her co-dancers on the show.

She told BBC News that celebrities “will feel a bit more comfortable” appearing on the show.

Rehearsals are often “frustrating” and “pressurising”, she said, adding that celebrities would be “comforted knowing someone is watching and observing what’s going on”.

Strictly has been hit by a series of damaging allegations involving former dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.

As further revelations emerged earlier this week, the BBC announced it would be using a Strictly production staff member for all future rehearsals, as well as bringing in two new specialist welfare producers.

The company insisted that it always takes any issues seriously and takes action where it becomes aware of inappropriate behaviour.

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Mr Likhanov, who appeared on the show from 2008 to 2015, said the new measures were “better than nothing”.

The camera “was the answer to all my problems, because it was there and I couldn’t escape it.”

During his time on the show, Rikhanov worked alongside such celebrities as political announcer and author John Sargent, boxer Joe Calzaghe, Blue singer Simon Webb, Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan and rugby player Ben Cohen.

Looking back on her time on Strictly, she said it was “fantastic” but also “challenging”.

She said rehearsals were exhausting and that moments of frustration sometimes required dance partners to “separate.”

She said the pressure on the couple increased as they got closer to the final.

“We have to learn several dances, I’m tired, my celebrity partner is tired, and it’s just hot,” Likhanov said.

“It’s a really high-pressure environment and a lot of dancers are struggling with their mental health.”

She said she thinks it’s necessary to explain to celebrities that the show is “not a walk in the park.”

But she added that there is “never an excuse for violence.”

“We all feel frustrated,” she said. “It’s a normal emotion. There’s no denying that it exists, but it’s how we deal with that frustration that’s the problem.”

“You don’t have to get too hung up on celebrities. You can just say, ‘OK, let’s take a moment, get away from each other, have a cup of tea, and then we’ll try again in a few minutes.'”

She added that dancers need to “remain professional” as they prepare Celebrity for Saturday night’s performance.

“I really can’t find it [a] A justification for unpleasant behavior.”

Strictly has been at the centre of controversy following complaints about Pernice and Di Prima.

TV star Zara McDermott, who was partnered by Di Prima last year, said on Tuesday that looking back on the events that unfolded in the Strictly training room, she found them “incredibly painful”.

Di Prima’s spokesman, Mark Borkowski, said the news stories were focused on an isolated incident for which the dancer deeply regrets and has apologized.

“I never kick or feel like it’s right to kick,” Borkowski told BBC News. “And he knows that.”

But a spokesman for McDermott said on Thursday that “Zara has already acknowledged in a statement on social media earlier this week that the reported behaviour was not an isolated incident.”

Both Pernice and Di Prima were dropped from this year’s Strictly line-up.

Presenter Richard Coles, who appeared on the programme in 2017, told BBC Breakfast he was “not surprised” by the revelations.

“At the heart of the Strictly experience is the close relationships with the dancers, many of which [happens] “Unnoticed,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be very intimate and very physical in a way that will surprise people at times.”

Like Likhanov, he welcomed the move to introduce chaperones.

“I think it’s good for the contestants. I think it’s good for the dancers,” he said.

On Thursday, “Good Morning Britain” presenter Richard Madeley said people he knows who work on the show “have all spoken about these issues and said they’ve known about them for years and years and years.”

“Until now the lid has been closed, but now it’s coming off,” he added.

Sue Ayton, a talent agent who represents celebrities such as Angela Rippon, who appeared on last year’s show, said the BBC’s duty of care measures had been “exemplary”.

But she told BBC Radio 4’s Media Show that both she and Ripon understood the “gruelling training, the hard work”, adding: “So we went into it with our eyes wide open. We’ve both worked with dancers and we know how hard it is.”

“We know we have to turn people into practically professional dancers in a short period of time.”

Lorraine Heggesy, a former controller of BBC One, which commissions Strictly, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “deeply disappointing” that “a line had clearly been crossed”.

“But what’s important is that the BBC acted swiftly and is taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

The allegations have cast a pall over the show, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, with the celebrity line-up for this year’s show expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“I think Strictly can get through this,” Heggesy said. “I think we should hold on to all the positives, deal with the issues and move forward.”

Kate Phillips, the BBC’s director of unscripted, said in a statement: “We recognise that our shows are a positive experience for the vast majority of participants, but where concerns are raised or we become aware of inappropriate behaviour we always take them seriously and respond.”

“The concerns raised primarily relate to training and rehearsals. The decisive measures we have taken and announced today will further strengthen the welfare and support for all those involved in this production.”