STRICTLY Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has addressed the controversy surrounding her former dance partner, Paralympian Will Bayley.
Her statement comes after Will claimed that he suffered a life-changing injury on the show.
In July he suggested that the injury occurred after Janette encouraged him to redo a jump during their 2019 rehearsals – despite his concerns about the move not being safe for him.
However, Janette has now insisted that her and Will are still “great friends” and made an “amazing team”.
During a recent interview with Closer Magazine, Janette reflected on the emotional toll their unexpected exit from the competition took on both of them.
She said: “It was hard for both of us to have to leave the competition in the way that we did.
“Nobody wants to have to leave the competition with an injury, especially when we were doing so well.
“So of course, he felt frustration, and there were massive repercussions that he had from everything that happened on Strictly.”
Despite the difficult circumstances, Janette emphasized that her and Will have maintained a positive relationship.
“We are still great friends,” she shared. “When all that came out we spoke directly to each other. We know in our hearts that we were an amazing team and had an incredible time together.”
Will was born with arthrogryposis, which is a condition that limits the range of motion in a sufferer’s limbs.
He suffered severe knee pain during his time on Strictly.
In a clip that has resurfaced from the 2019 live shows, viewers can see the devastating moment Will was left curled up on the floor in pain after attempting the jump.
At the time host Tess Daly explained that Will had been injured and would not be performing that week.
Footage showed a medic providing first aid as the sportsman lay in agony.
In response to Will’s injury claims earlier this year, a representative for Janette told the BBC: “Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice.
“Her celebrity partner’s safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly.
“Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will.”
Janette has also recently been dealing with other Strictly related drama closer to home.
Her husband, Aljaz Skorjanec, has faced backlash following reports of a backstage row with a female colleague – which cast a shadow over his return to the BBC dance show.
In an appearance on the latest episode of Postcards Of Midlife podcast, Janette shared her fears over “the wonderful things” Strictly has done being “destroyed” by “very serious incidents”.
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.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
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: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
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.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
