Richard Madeley has weighed in on the Strictly scandal as the BBC crisis continues to deepen.
Hosting Good Morning Britain alongside Charlotte Hawkins on Thursday, the presenter admitted that he wasn’t surprised about the allegations.
The TV star, 68, confessed he knows lots of people who have been involved in the hit dance show and they have been talking about these issues for years.
Discussing what would be coming up on today’s programme, Richard revealed they would be speaking to Strictly alumni Reverend Richard Coles and Edwina Currie about their time on the show.
He then added: ‘I have to say the people that I know involved in that programme all talk about these issues and they say they’ve all known for years and years and years but the lid has been kept on it and now that lid is coming off.’
Richard Madeley has weighed in on the Strictly drama as he claimed ‘people have known about the issues for year and years’ during Good Morning Britain on Thursday
The TV star, 68, confessed he knows lots of people who have been involved in the hit dance show and they have been talking about these issues for years (pictured Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima who has been sacked from the show following reports of abuse)
Richard also read out Richard Coles comment after he spoke about the allegations during an interview with Times Radio on Wednesday.
He said: ‘I’ve spoken to both contestants and also professionals about it. And I think no one has been surprised that this stuff has surfaced.’
He also explained: ‘I remember somebody who worked on the show for years and years turning to me and saying “Strictly is a wonderful show with a dark heart” and I never really understood what that meant.
‘But perhaps one of the things that meant is what you don’t see. And that is how intensively competitive that is.
Richard’s words came after it was revealed a third Strictly Come Dancing professional has reportedly been named as a ‘person of interest’ in the wake of abuse and bullying allegations overshadowing the show.
Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show last week over reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series.
It came just weeks after Giovanni Pernice, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is conducted over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other former celeb partners.
And on Wednesday the scandal deepened after unearthed footage revealed former professional dancer James Jordan telling his partner he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves.
Richard said: ‘I have to say t he people that I know involved in that programme all talk about these issues and they say they’ve all known for years and years and years but the lid has been kept on it and now that lid is coming off’
Strictly’s Reverend Richard Coles said on Thursda : ‘I’ve spoken to both contestants and also professionals about it. And I think no one has been surprised that this stuff has surfaced’
Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show last week over reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series
On Wednesday the scandal deepened after unearthed footage revealed former professional dancer James Jordan telling his partner he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves
The clip, which was filmed during the fourth series back in 2006, shows him rehearsing with actress Georgina Bouzova.
He also says to her ‘kill you’ as he demands she stands on one leg and insists that unless she has physically broken a rib he doesn’t care what pain she is in. He is also seen throwing a chair across the training studio.
James, who left Strictly in 2012 after appearing on eight series, also banned Georgina, who formerly starred on BBC medical drama Casualty, from eating sweets and chocolate and would only allow her to buy pineapple and ham when they visited a supermarket together.
However James has furiously hit back after the clip from Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two resurfaced.
The ballroom dancer and choreographer, 46, has slammed the BBC saying most of the footage ‘was not related to Georgina at all’.
Sharing a raging statement on Instagram he said that the footage was ‘edited for entertainment’ and was ‘highly produced and exaggerated’.
He said there ‘is no comparison to be drawn between those awful allegations and the VT’ – while insisting none of his celebrity partners ever complained about him during his eight years on the show.
On Tuesday night it was revealed that a third professional dancer on the show has been named as a ‘person of interest’ in the wake of the abuse and bullying allegations.
BBC executives sacked Graziano after members of production presented bosses with video of the pro dancer ‘hitting and kicking’ Love Island star Zara during training last Autumn.
But there have been accusations of a massive cover-up by the BBC over claims crew members complained about Graziano’s behaviour during the series but no action was taken.
It came just weeks after Giovanni Pernice , 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is conducted over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50
There have been accusations of a massive cover-up by the BBC over claims crew members complained about Graziano’s behaviour during the series
Zara herself admitted in her statement shared on Tuesday that she was too worried about coming forward to complain about Graziano’s behaviour
Executives at the BBC are said to be ‘deeply worried’ that the fans will stop watching as scandal continues to surround their their flagship show
When a group of Strictly production staff witnessed the way Graziano treated Zara in last year’s series, they reported their concerns to their superiors. But, instead of sacking him, senior execs ignored their worries and have Graziano ‘quiet warnings’.
It was only when staff backed up their allegations with video evidence last week – including a clip of Graziano hitting Zara – that bosses were galvanised into action and sacked him. But this was nine months after they had first raised the alarm.
One BBC insider told the Mail’s Katie Hind: ‘There is absolutely no doubt that those very high up on Strictly, and wider at the BBC, knew about Graziano’s behaviour – but they allowed him still to appear on screen.’
The BBC’s official response was: ‘While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well known that the BBC has established robust duty of care procedures and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate.’
But Strictly sources told the Mail they believe there was a ‘cover-up’ of Graziano’s behaviour, which ‘bosses hoped would save fan-favourite Di Prima from being ousted’.
Zara herself admitted in her statement shared on Tuesday that she was too worried about coming forward to complain about Graziano’s behaviour, in a sign that she too didn’t want to tarnish the show’s wholesome reputation as well as her own career prospects.
‘I have wrested with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming,’ Zara wrote on Instagram.
With news this week that a third professional dancer – who is no longer on the show – is also part of the probe into the BBC series, insiders have told The Sun that it is ‘becoming clear is that there appears to be a more widespread issue over the conduct of some of the professionals in training.’
‘The more people who come forward, the clearer the picture is becoming.’