If Strictly Come Dancing fails to survive the bullying scandal, we may look back at the “emotional summit” between three women this year as the moment the show’s final chapter was written.
“Tears were shed” as three former contestants on the show — the actress Amanda Abbington and the presenters Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh — met to compare notes on their professional dance partner, Giovanni Pernice.
Months later, Pernice has left the show under the cloud of a BBC investigation along with Graziano Di Prima, another Italian, who was sacked for kicking his celebrity partner, Zara McDermott, during last year’s season.
Clips show Cole slapping his partner’s bottom three times during training
BBC bosses had hoped to put the matter to bed before season 22 — the show’s 20th anniversary — gets under