LAILA Rouass has broken her silence on the Strictly Come Dancing furore as her pro-partner Anton Du Beke faces a misconduct probe.
The Footballers Wives star appeared on Strictly in 2009 and was partnered with Anton, 58, finishing in fourth place.
The Sun recently revealed how Anton – who is now a judge on the BBC show – is facing a misconduct probe after a comment he made calling her a “P***” after a spray tan resurfaced.
On Sunday, Laila, 53, took to Instagram to address the situation with her followers.
She said: “There has been much speculation over the last couple of weeks about alleged complaints I have made to the BBC regarding my time at Strictly.
“I had no intention of making a statement but now feel it’s necessary as over the last couple of weeks there have been false accusations, online abuse and harassment aimed at me and my family.”
She continued: “Strictly is a show I have always loved so when I was offered the opportunity to compete, I was ecstatic.
“When I was paired with Anton, I knew I was in safe hands. The show demands much of your time and energy. Anton and I rehearsed 7 days a week for approx 6/7 hours a day.
“This was on my insistence and Anton made himself available at these times. At no point did I feel pressured by Anton or the producers to add more time to rehearsals.
“Unfortunately, my time on the show was scarred by a handful of incidents, some of which were discussed in the press at the time.
“I would like to address those incidents; Yes, Anton used derogatory words and it was unacceptable. Yes, Anton publicly apologised to me.
“Above all this, and most importantly, I do not believe Anton is racist or Islamaphobic. If I believed he was, I would have refused to dance with him.
“I wish to make clear, apart from the situation mentioned above, which was dealt with, at absolutely no point was I physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally abused by Anton.
“At no point did Anton use manipulation or cruelty towards me during rehearsals. At no point did I feel vulnerable in Anton’s presence. Anton was generous, patient and hardworking.”
Laila added: “I am making this statement as I do not want to take the focus away from those who have bravely spoken out about the alleged abuse they experienced on the show.
“I do not want my experience to be merged in with extremely serious and disturbing allegations from other contestants.
The experiences I have personally heard, from other contestants, are incredibly concerning and far eclipse my own.
Laila Rouass
“The focus should remain with them and their stories, because their stories matter. Their stories must be addressed and investigated.
“Also, it would be morally reprehensible if I allowed speculation about Anton to continue. It would be unfair for Anton to lose his livelihood, his reputation and his credibility because of an incident that happened 15 years ago and to the best of my knowledge has not happened since.
“I cannot in good faith along this guesswork to continue.”
Laila added that opportunities to talk things through should be given in order for people to “learn and grow”.
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.”
But she added: “However, the experiences I have personally heard, from other contestants, are incredibly concerning and far eclipse my own.
“Needless to say, I have not made an official complaint to the BBC regarding Anton and I do not intend to.
“I do however welcome conversations with the BBC about their duty of care.”
Laila concluded her post highlighting how she will always stand with champions against abuse and praised the courage of former Strictly contestants who have spoken out so far.
SPEAKING UP
Her post comes after Amanda Abbington gave her first TV interview regarding her complaint against Giovanni Pernice on last year’s series of Strictly.
Meanwhile, Laura Whitmore has also broke her silence this week on issues she had raised during her time on Strictly while dancing with Giovanni, who has now left the show.
Elsewhere, Graziano Di Prima was axed from the pro line up after revelations about his treatment of 2023 contestant Zara McDermott came to light.
Graziano broke his silence moments after his exit was announced and spoke of his “deep regret” over the damning claims.
