Kristina Rihanoff has revealed the reality of filming Strictly Come to dance!
The 46-year-old Russian dancer, who starred on the entertainment show for six years, has weighed in on the ongoing misconduct investigations and believes celebrities should be provided with chaperones during rehearsals.
Speaking to BBC NewsKristina admitted that rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressured”, adding that celebrities would feel more “comfortable knowing that there will be someone watching and observing the situations”.
The dancer, who appeared on the show from 2009 to 2015, said that with the accompanists in place, potential contestants would now “feel a little more comfortable” about signing up for the show.
She shared her thoughts after professional dancer Graziano Di Prima was fired following allegations he punched and kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Kristina Rihanoff has revealed rehearsals were often “frustrating” and “pressured” but by giving celebrities daters they would feel more “at ease”.
The 46-year-old Russian dancer, who starred on Strictly from 2009 to 2015, said that with chaperones in place, potential contestants would now “feel a bit more comfortable” about signing up for the show which has been plagued by allegations of misconduct.
The distraught dance star fled home to Italy to be with his mother, wife and extended family after losing his job following allegations he kicked, punched and spat on Zara McDermott during training.
Graziano is now staying in a remote family farmhouse surrounded by vineyards, where he has been virtually confined since the bombshell of his dismissal exploded.
The investigation was sparked by allegations of bullying by 2023 celebrity contestant Amanda Abbington, which prompted her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, who denies the allegations, to quit the show.
In an Instagram post confirming his departure, Graziano wrote: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win may have affected my training regime.
“In accordance with the BBC’s HR process, I understand that it is in the best interests of the programme for me to step down.”
He continued: ‘While there are aspects of this story that involve outside influences that I cannot discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.
‘I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success for the future.’
She concluded her message: “I would also like to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.”
Earlier this week, Kristina spoke on Lorraine and said that during her time on the show the vetting process for prospective performers’ experience and character was rigorous.
But she shared concerns that those procedures are not as thorough now and questioned the teaching ability of the current professional dancers on the show.
“All of these situations are very distressing right now for a lot of Strictly fans and for someone who worked on the show for eight years, for me,” Kristina said.
“It’s very disturbing, very disturbing. That statement from Zara for me, as a woman, was heartbreaking. She really suffered so much stress and abuse.”
Kristina said that when she applied to be on the show in the 2000s, she went through a serious vetting process.
The dancer flew in from the US to be interviewed for 45 minutes on camera, and had to demonstrate her teaching style for the Cha Cha Cha and Waltz using a runner as a simulated student.
Kristina, who is engaged to her former celebrity partner Ben Cohen, later returned to the United States and filed massive amounts of paperwork detailing her certification in various dance styles, as well as teaching qualifications and character profiles.
“I think this process no longer exists,” he said.
She had 10 years of experience teaching dance when she was hired for the show, something she feels may be missing in the current cast.
Kristina said, “All of the professionals in my years on the show came from competitive backgrounds. We all taught, and taught for a while, so we had that experience of teaching people.”
Graziano is now staying in a remote family farmhouse surrounded by vineyards, where he has been virtually confined since the bombshell of his dismissal exploded.
Speaking on Lorraine on Wednesday, Kristina said that during her time on the show, the process of vetting the experience and character of potential performers was rigorous (Kristina pictured with her former celebrity partner and now fiancé Ben Cohen in 2014).
Kristina shared with Lorraine her concerns about the fact that strict procedures are not as thorough now and questioned the teaching ability of the current professional dancers on the show.
Kristina said that when she applied to be on the show in the 2000s, she went through a serious selection process (pictured with celebrity partner Simon Webbe in 2015)
He said that while some of the show’s professionals may now be great dancers, the job is primarily to teach in a way that a celebrity can understand and that will help them thrive.
“That’s the main job, not being able to stand on your head and do somersaults in a group act,” he added.
“That’s all very well, but in the end what matters is the ability to teach and I think some professionals who are very young probably don’t have any teaching experience.”
After months of being bombarded with calls from agents begging for their clients to take a spot on the Saturday night favourite, Stefania Aleksander, the show’s long-serving booker, has typically signed at least six or seven celebrities, whose names inevitably find their way into the public domain.
However, it has been quite a struggle this time around, the Mail revealed on Tuesday, despite it being Strictly’s 20th anniversary year.
Members of the corporation said they are having trouble recruiting women in particular, especially high-profile ones, a first in their storied history, amid the fallout from investigations into the behavior.
“It’s usually the women who are more enthusiastic,” said one TV executive connected to the show. “Not only is it a chance to dress up, but appearing on Strictly is also much more successful for women’s careers than for men’s.”
“But word has gotten around that it’s not exactly a walk in the park, so getting them has been a lot more complicated.”
Graziano was sacked after five years on Strictly following allegations he punched and kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
The scandal comes on the heels of Amanda Abbington’s allegations that Giovanni Pernice bullied her during rehearsals.
The show is in “crisis” according to insiders and top brass at both Strictly and the BBC have been in meetings over the weekend as they try to figure out how to survive the scandal.
One said: “There have been a lot of conversations about how to address this, but the immediate issue is this year’s cast… There has been a lot of name-calling and frustration.”
The scale of the crisis is illustrated by the fact that, this time last year, Zara, former newsreader Angela Rippon and TV presenter Angela Scanlon had already signed up for the show. Finalist Layton Williams had also agreed to appear and Les Dennis was close to doing so. All of these names had been leaked into the public domain, but this year no high-profile woman has yet been put forward.
“Things are starting to get ugly,” the source says. “It was supposed to be a hit this year because it’s a very important show. There’s a lot of pressure.”
In a bid to generate interest and make the show more attractive to potential contestants, the BBC yesterday unveiled a three-point plan to make rehearsals safer.
From now on, a member of the production team will be present during training, both contestants and professionals will receive additional support through social producers, and “additional training” will be provided to the production team and crew.
The move was announced after Zara broke her silence on the scandal, in which Graziano not only punched and kicked her, but also repeatedly verbally abused her.