Strictly Come Dancing: BBC says it ‘does not recognise’ new allegations of toxic workplace culture

New report alleges sexist and sexualised comments made to show staff, and a ‘tense, toxic and uncomfortable’ working environment

The BBC has said it “does not recognise” new allegations of a toxic workplace culture behind the scenes at Strictly Come Dancing, as the scandal surrounding the show rages on.

A fresh batch of claims have been made about the production of BBC One’s flagship entertainment show, including allegations of sexually inappropriate comments in the workplace, and a work culture deemed “tense, toxic [and] uncomfortable”.

Strictly is currently facing scrutiny over the treatment of some of its celebrity participants, while two professional dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, have now left the show following allegations made about their conduct during training. Pernice has denied allegations of “threatening and abusive behaviour,” while Di Prima said in a statement he “deeply regrets” kicking his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal.

Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington, who quit the 2023 series of the show, said in an interview this week that she and her lawyer are trying to access 50 hours of rehearsal room footage that was filmed during her training with Pernice, which she alleged shows her time “spent in a room that was toxic” with the Strictly professional.

A new investigation into the culture at Strictly by The Observer focuses not on the show’s celebrity contestants but on workers behind the scenes of the series. The newspaper has spoken to a number of former production staff who’ve alleged encounters with inappropriate behaviour and a workplace in which “incompetence” is rewarded and “talented” staff are “treated with cruelty”.

One person who worked on Strictly in 2022, who wished to remain anonymous, said they’d received sexist and sexualised comments from a senior member of staff. Another person, who worked on the show in 2016, claimed that the culture at Strictly was “tense, toxic, uncomfortable” and that “the disparity between what you see on screen and what happens behind the scenes is enormous”. The procedures in place for logging complaints about workplace issues have also been criticised.

In a statement to The Observer, BBC Studios said: “The welfare of our crews working on each series of Strictly is always of paramount importance to us. We act speedily when any concerns are raised, and we have thorough, effective, and longstanding processes to manage them.

“The show is a fast-paced live TV production environment that has attracted hundreds of people in the industry to work on who have had a positive experience, so we do not recognise the claims relating to a negative workplace culture – or that there are flaws in our whistleblowing process.

“In 2022, we announced the introduction of our industry-leading initiative The Pledge on all our productions, including Strictly, which proactively encourages anyone on our sets to raise concerns of inappropriate behaviour via a number of avenues, including anonymously to Navex Global, an external whistleblowing service independent of the BBC and BBC Studios.”

‘Strictly’ presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly (BBC/Guy Levy)

Earlier this week, the BBC director general Tim Davie said in a statement that he remains committed to Strictly, but apologised to “anyone [who] has had an experience on Strictly that hasn’t been wholly positive,” adding: “I think that is something we do reflect on, and I’m sorry about that.”

Davie continued: “Alongside the fun and entertainment, there will be a degree of competitiveness, hard work, and a will to do well, that’s part of what makes this show. But there are limits and the line should never be crossed.”

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