STRICTLY Come Dancing star Katya Jones admitted rehearsals have taken its toll on her amid the bullying probe.
The BBC has spent three months investigating claims that Giovanni Pernice was “abusive” towards his former dance partner Amanda Abbington.
Now pro dancer Katya, 35, shared her thoughts ahead of the show with her her fans, a month before the new series kicks off.
One follower asked the star during an Instagram Q&A: “How has rehearsals been?”
Katya shared a photo of her fellow professional dancers in training and replied: “We’ve done four weeks of rehearsals.
“It’s been very hard physically but so rewarding.
“12 routines that we are about to pre-record are absolutely spectacular.
“I can’t wait for you all to see them.”
Only six women are competing in this year’s programme and there are nine men taking part.
That means 40 per cent of celebrities in this year’s show are women, while in most years it has been roughly a 50/50 split between the sexes.
A TV insider said: “Looking at the figures, it’s hard to see how the ongoing controversy over bullying could not have affected the recruitment process for this year’s Strictly.
“At no point in the show’s history has there been such a small proportion of women.
“It probably wasn’t the landmark number they wanted, given the show is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
“The most serious claims of abuse and bullying have involved male pros and their treatment of female celebrity dance partners.”
Meanwhile Graziano Di Prima was sacked from Strictly last month after admitting kicking Zara once at rehearsals.
He has since returned to his normal job, working for £6 an hour on a farm in his native Italy.
A source told us: “Graziano has lost everything.
“He is in pieces and filled with remorse. He knows, quite rightly, there is no way back for him in showbiz in the UK. His Strictly dancing career is over.
“He’s fled back home and is living on a farm, earning a pittance, and throwing himself into manual labour.
“He says he is literally living next to some cows- it’s an astonishing fall from grace.”
Judges Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse are returning, with Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly at the helm.
