ZARA McDermott was planning social events with Graziano Di Prima and his wife just 20 minutes before he was axed from Strictly Come Dancing.
Graziano was sacked from the hit BBC show for gross misconduct amid claims he hit, kicked and spat at dance partner Zara.
Zara told how she found footage from their rehearsals “incredibly distressing” when she spoke to BBC bosses about Graziano’s former co-star Giovanni Pernice, who is under investigation.
Breaking his silence on the allegations, Graziano told the Daily Mail: “I thought we were friends, we were friends” as he detailed their relationship after the show.
Zara attended his dance classes, helped him promote his tour with his wife Giada which she went to watch twice, offered to help them hunt for a flat in London and even met Graziano’s mum Giovanna.
The last message Zara sent to him was on July 9 with a video of her cat as she complained about the weather while Graziano was in Sicily.
His wife replied “I’ll try and send the sun to you” before ending the exchange with a voice message from Giada saying: “Anyway, my darling, we’re going to see you very soon because we’re going to be in the UK so we need to go out together and we can organise dinner in our new apartment. Sending love.”
Graziano told how 20 minutes later he was sacked by the BBC.
He hasn’t heard from Zara since.
“You can’t imagine how many times my mind has been going back and forward trying to think of something that happened all those months ago that I can’t figure out,” Graziano said.
“I’m not a monster. I’m not an abusive man. I will not let these lies define me. They are not who I am.”
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”.
August 10: 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.
