Another weekend, another allegation of misconduct behind the scenes of the UK’s biggest entertainment TV show, with a former contestant Laura Whitmore claiming that he was subjected to “inappropriate behavior” when he participated in Strictly come dancing.
The TV presenter teamed up with a professional dancer. Giovanni Pernice in 2016, whom he has not named on his account. On Saturday he wrote a post on Instagram in which he said:
I was trying not to comment on the recent press speculation until… BBC “The review is complete, but I feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show my support by clearing things up.”
Whitmore said she raised her concerns during her time on the show, which saw the couple become the seventh to be eliminated.
“I initially expressed my concern in 2016,” she wrote. “I thought my experience was specific to me, but then I realized I was wrong.
“The point of this is to show a pattern of behavior that I think needs to stop.
“I’m not looking for anything, just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time at the BBC Strictly “It was wrong and it won’t happen to anyone else again.”
“I know that the BBC and all media are still doing everything they can to be better, but for that to happen we need to speak up,” he said.
The BBC reported that its own press office said it would not comment on Whitmore’s claims..
Pernice has been the subject of claims by her 2023 partner, the actress Amanda Abbingtonwho left the show “for medical reasons” but was later diagnosed with PTSD after her time rehearsing with Pernice, and that his behavior was “cruel, unnecessary and mean.”
Pernice denies all the allegations against him and the BBC’s investigation is expected to conclude next week. He has not been included in this year’s programme. Strictly come dancing‘s 20He anniversary.
The show remains one of the BBC’s most successful productions, running for two decades and sold to over 60 territories worldwide, with many international broadcasters renaming it. Dancing with the stars.