JANETTE Manrara has shared an emotional message with fans thanking them for their support after Will Bayley revealed his life-changing Strictly accident.
The 40-year-old former Strictly Come Dancing professional was paired with Paralympian Will, 36, for the 2019 series.
Amid the ongoing scandal surrounding the BBC One show, Will revealed he “still has flashbacks” after being injured during rehearsals and claimed Janette called one of his jumps “rubbish”.
As fans rally around Janette – who is now a host of Strictly spin-off It Takes Two – she told them: “Just want to to say to you all…
“Thank you for sending so much love and support. I feel incredibly fortunate to have such kind souls following along my life’s adventures.”
She added: “You are all noticed and you are all appreciated deeply.”
At the weekend Will told The Sun on Sunday: “Now feels like the right time to speak up. I hope what I went through never happens to anyone else.”
He was hurt during a studio rehearsal with Janette watching from the sidelines as he went through the routine with fellow pro Nancy Xu.
“The plan was for me to jump off a high table. In rehearsal all week, we hadn’t jumped it — I just mimed it,” explained Will.
We practised a few times and I was really careful. But then Janette said my jump was ‘rubbish’ and I needed to smile more and go for it and show a bit of passion.
“I was really determined, so I went for it and smiled at the camera. When I landed I just had the most horrific pain. I still have flashbacks now.”
He is now demanding an apology from the BBC over his rehearsal injury.
Will’s revelation came amid the ongoing Strictly misconduct probe, following complaints about ex-pros Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.
Actress Amanda Abbington has claimed she was diagnosed with PTSD after 33-year-old Gio’s “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” behaviour last year.
While Graziano, 30, was axed from the show following allegations he “hit, spat at and kicked” Zara McDermott during rehearsals for the most recent series.
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes central to an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that left him withdrawing from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
