Former Strictly star who was paired with Graziano Di Prima speaks out on scandal

Former contestant has waded in on the debate after participating in 2022

Kym Marsh has waded in on the Strictly debate after the professional dancer she was partnered with was dropped from the show.

Graziano Di Prima was dropped from the BBC series last month after an investigation into the show’s rehearsals was launched due to Amanda Abbigton’s complaints about Giovanni Pernice.

Di Prima was swiftly axed from the series after it was alleged that footage showed him kicking Zara McDermott during last year’s series.

The footage has not been made public, and the circumstances surrounding it are unknown – and Di Prima said in his first tell-all interview on Saturday (10 August) that the claims are “vile” and “false”.

Marsh was paired with Di Prima in 2022, and when asked about the scandal, she said she was surprised at the allegations.

“I’m reluctant to talk too much about someone else’s experience,” she told The Sun. “I had one of the best times of my life doing that show and it was amazing.

“I didn’t have any experiences like we’ve heard. It definitely, definitely did not represent what I had experienced, no.”

Reflecting on the alleged kick that got him fired from the show, Di Prima He told MailOnline: “You can’t imagine how many times my mind has been going back and forward trying to think of something that happened all those months ago that I can’t figure out,” he said in his first full interview since the scandal.

“The only thing I can think of is the time I kicked the floor in frustration. We’d practised hour after hour to perfect a routine with lifts. It wasn’t easy but that’s the pressure of the show. I was in pain from lifting her so many times but wanted to get it right. I thought I could save her [from elimination].

“I wasn’t meaning to kick her. I’d never, never do that. My foot brushed her after I kicked the floor. Afterwards I hugged her and said I was sorry. There was no problem. We carried on.”

Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 2022 (BBC)

He added: “I’m not a monster. I’m not an abusive man.”

Meanwhile, Abbington has been “questioned again” about her experience with Pernice after the arrival of “new evidence”, which is reported to be texts that Abbignton had yet to show the BBC.