Strictly Come Dancing has denied toxic workplace allegations from former staff.
The latest firestorm for the show follows a report from The Observer with comments from multiple former Strictly employees about the behind-the-scenes environment of the show.
A myriad of allegations are laid out by these former workers, including one staffer saying they were subject to sexualised and sexist comments in the workplace. Another alleged that they were not given clear direction on how to register a workplace complaint from the BBC.
These complaints, which date back as far as 2016, include one former staffer recalling "talented co-workers treated with cruelty” along with workplace complaints that go beyond the celebrities and professional partners.
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In response to these allegations, a Strictly spokesperson told The Radio Times: "The welfare of our crews working on each series of Strictly is always of paramount importance to us. We act speedily when any concerns are raised, and we have thorough, effective, and longstanding processes to manage them.
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"The show is a fast-paced live TV production environment that has attracted hundreds of people in the industry to work on, who have had a positive experience, so we do not recognise the claims relating to a negative workplace culture – or that there are flaws in our whistleblowing process.
"In 2022, we announced the introduction of our industry-leading initiative The Pledge on all our productions, including Strictly, which proactively encourages anyone on our sets to raise concerns of inappropriate behaviour via a number of avenues, including anonymously to Navex Global, an external whistleblowing service independent of the BBC and BBC Studios."
These new allegations have surfaced during a time of intense scrutiny for the show as it conducts an internal review of the conduct of its staff.
Former celebrity contestants Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Zara McDermott have all gone public with complaints about their treatment during rehearsals in past seasons.
While the BBC's internal review is ongoing, Strictly has confirmed that professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano di Prima will not be returning for the new season.
The BBC's director general Tim Davie also recently publicly apologised to any past contestants who had "an experience that hasn't been wholly positive".
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
