- Got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com
Dancing On Ice figure skater Vanessa Bauer has praised the ITV show’s duty of care towards celebrities, following Strictly’s ongoing misconduct scandal.
The 28-year-old professional skater revealed that unlike the BBC show, her training sessions are now attended by show staff.
Speaking to Sun She said: ‘Their training regime is different to Dancing On Ice. But yes, the training is intense.
‘All of our sessions are recorded and we also have coaches who help us locate our lifts.
“We have to have an added safety factor, so most of the time there are people on the ice rink anyway.”
Dancing On Ice figure skater Vanessa Bauer has praised the ITV show’s duty of care towards celebrities, following Strictly’s ongoing misconduct scandal.
The 28-year-old professional skater revealed that unlike the BBC show, her training sessions are now attended by show staff.
This comes after Strictly Come Dancing bosses are reportedly considering hiring escorts for the stars after professional dancers Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice were accused of misconduct.
Di Prima, 30, was booted from the show last week amid reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner. Zara McDermott27, during last year’s series.
Meanwhile, Pernice, 33, has been suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other celebrity exes.
The BBC is said to be “toughening up” its duty of care with chief executive Sam Bickley in charge of ensuring the welfare of participants.
A source for The times:'(Sam) will discuss protocols and where they need to be strengthened.’
‘It’s a 90 per cent happy boat, but the desire to win and compete may have meant going overboard in some areas.
He continued: “We have acted quickly and decisively to nip that in the bud and that does not prevent almost everyone else from having a truly delightful and enriching experience being part of the program.”
Meanwhile, Kristina Rihanoff, who appeared on the dance show from 2009 to 2015, recently revealed the reality of filming Strictly. Come to dance!
The revelation comes shortly after Amanda Abbington’s allegations that Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice bullied her during rehearsals, something he denies.
Another Strictly professional, Graziano Di Prima, 30, was booted from the show last week following reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series.
Zara wrote that while much of her time on Strictly “was everything I could have dreamed of”, inside the training room there were “particular incidents that are incredibly distressing”.
Former professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff revealed earlier this week that rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressured” but by giving celebrities partners they would feel more “at ease”.
Speaking to BBC NewsThe 46-year-old Russian dancer admitted rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressured”, adding that celebrities should be provided with chaperones during rehearsals.
He said celebrities would feel more “comfortable knowing that there will be someone watching and observing the situations.”
The dancer said that with the accompanists in place, potential contestants would now “feel a little more comfortable” about signing up for the show.
The scale of the crisis is illustrated by the fact that, at this time last year, Zara, former newsreader Angela Rippon and TV presenter Angela Scanlon had already signed up for the programme.
Finalist Layton Williams had also agreed to appear and Les Dennis was about to do so.
All of these names have been leaked into the public domain, but this year, no high-profile woman has yet been named.