A JUNIOR member of staff working on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing has blown the whitle on a “toxic work environment”.
The crew member, known only as Oscar, claims dancers “shouted, screamed and insulted him”
Speaking to BBC News, the 18-year-old says he quit the show after a celebrity contestant flew into a rage.
“He was shouting and he was so close up in my face, I had to close my eyes as his spit flecks were hitting me,” Oscar said.
“The fact it was in front of everyone made me feel awful and helpless. People were stopping in the corridor to catch a glimpse of what was happening.”
The celebrity later apologised to him. But Oscar said it never should have happened in the first place.
It was bullying behaviour,” he said.
“I felt sick, and couldn’t sleep or eat.
“I remember thinking that this was it, and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“It was the final straw for me.”
BBC News spoke to 15 current and former members of staff on the show about its culture behind the scenes.
While some said they were treated with “kindness and respect” while working on Strictly, others claimed junior staff were “bullied” by professional dancers.
All those who spoke out about the alleged abuse asked to remain anonymous.
It comes in the wake of pro dancer Graziano di Prima being sacked for abusing partner Zara McDermott.
Colleague Giovanni Pernice is also being investigated following similar complaints from his partner Amanda Abbington.
A BBC Studios spokesman said they don’t recognise the claims, nor will “hundreds of production personnel” who have worked across the two decades the show has been on air.
They apologised if anyone didn’t feel able to raise their experiences at the time, adding: “The welfare and safety of our crew on each series has always been, and remains, our utmost priority.”
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”.
