STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stars were seen all smiles returning to work today after a reported intruder scare yesterday afternoon.
The professional dancers were allegedly rushed into their rehearsal studio on Tuesday when an intruder reportedly tried to scale a wall at the London property.
However, it’s business as usual today with familiar faces, including Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Amy Dowden and Johannes Radebe and Kai Widdrington, seen in good spirits as they returned to work.
The team were all dressed in sports gear as they made their arrivals, many shielding their faces from the summer sun with baseball caps.
Dianne, whose signature bright red hair is now a brown and red ombré hairstyle, was seen in a black tank top and bright red shorts to match her iconic look.
Amy, who is returning to the series after battling cancer, beamed alongside her in all-black tracksuit gear and giant sunglasses, with her hair in a shaggy blonde pixie crop.
Johannes and Kai were spotted chatting as they strolled across the street in neutral cream tone shorts and t-shirts.
Jowita looked effortlessly cool with a loose baby pink button-up shirt, which was matched by a pink bandana keeping her hair from her face.
Nadiya Bychkova was seen in bright blue yoga pants and a beige sweater as she strolled up to the entrance with Neil Jones and Aljaz Skorjanec.
Official rehearsals for this year’s series started on Monday, ahead of the first line-up announcements and show launch, which typically begins in September.
The group were having lunch outside when the production team rushed them inside after someone scaled a wall.
A source told The Sun: “The incident was dealt with very quickly and nobody came to any harm, but security always treat the wellbeing of the show’s talent with the upmost importance so they couldn’t take any chances.
“Rehearsals continued as normal as the dancers didn’t notice any interruptions.”
The team were later seen covering up the entrance to the building in tarpaulin on order to put off any other onlookers.
The Strictly team are doing everything they can to put their best foot forward this year, with the 20th anniversary promising to be the most showstopping yet.
However, the series has already been marred with issues including a number of their pro dancers coming under fire for their rigid teaching methods in the rehearsal room.
Three complaints against Giovanni Pernice kickstarted a BBC deep investigation, although he maintains he has done nothing wrong and has vowed to clear his name.
The probe later resulted in video footage of Graziano Di Prima allegedly ‘kicking and spitting’ at 2023 partner Zara McDermott came to light.
Both Giovanni and Graziano, who both went to the same dance school as children, were axed from the series as a result.
The investigation into the show is still ongoing, with Strictly bosses now implementing new duty of care protocols including having a chaperone in the rehearsal studios at all times.
Several stars from previous years have also come forward with their own experiences of the show, including claims by Will Bayley that he was made to jump off a table.
The Paralympian, who has arthrogryposis, a limb condition that affects the range of motion in his joints, said he was hesitant to do the move but was spurred on by choreographers.
He ended up having a nasty fall during rehearsals and later had to pull out of the competition.
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 the centre of 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 forced him to withdraw 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.”
