Vanessa Feltz has defended her former Strictly co-star James Jordan after footage emerged of him telling Georgina Bouzova in rehearsals that he would “drag her around the floor and shout at her” if she forgot his moves.
Vanessa, 62, who took part in the series in 2013, fumed that it was “totally wrong” to put him in the same category as sacked professionals Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he criticised the BBC for “deliberately” gathering the material for inclusion in It Takes Two.
Saying: ‘Anyone who thinks these are mysterious images of James Jordan which has suddenly come to light and shows it in the same category as Giovanni Pernice either Graziano Di Primaboth no longer associated with the program, is completely wrong.’
This comes after Graziano, 30, was axed from the show last week following reports he verbally and physically abused fellow celebrity Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series.
Vanessa Feltz has defended her former Strictly co-star James Jordan after footage of him was unearthed as the crisis on the show deepened.
Vanessa, 62, who took part in the series in 2013 (pictured), furiously said it was “quite wrong” to lump James into the same category as sacked professionals Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.
James and actress Georgina Bouzova photographed during the fourth season in 2006
Weeks earlier, Giovanni, 33, was suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other celebrity exes.
Recalling working with James, Vanessa, who came second during her series, said: “Working with James Jordan on Strictly was amazing.”
‘Poor thing that caught me, it really was the shortest straw, the shortest, stubby, non-dancing straw, it really was.
Before adding: “And he was absolutely magnificent with me. He was incredibly funny, kind, patient, incredibly hard-working and very, very, very, very nice.”
Following her defense, James thanked her on Instagram, writing: ‘Thank you @Vanessafeltz. I just watched the video on your YouTube channel and you reminded me how amazing I am. Love you Vanessa.’
This comes after the dancer also slammed the BBC after the clip began circulating saying that most of the footage was “not related to Georgina at all”.
The clip, which was filmed during the fourth season in 2006, shows him rehearsing with actress Georgina.
He also tells her “I will kill you” while demanding that she stand on one leg and insists that unless she has physically broken a rib, he doesn’t care how much pain she’s in. He is also seen throwing a chair across the training studio.
Recalling her work with James Vanessa, who came second during her series, said: “Working with James Jordan on Strictly was amazing.”
Before adding: “And he was absolutely magnificent with me. He was incredibly funny, kind, patient, incredibly hard-working and very, very, very, very nice.”
Following her defence, James thanked her: ‘Thank you @Vanessafeltz. I just watched the video on your YouTube channel and you reminded me how amazing I am. I love you Vanessa.’
But she has now responded to the clip on her Instagram and shared a furious statement saying the video was “edited for entertainment” and was “highly produced and over the top”.
He said there was “no comparison between those horrible allegations and those on VT” – though he insisted none of his celebrity partners had complained about him during his eight years on the show.
This comes after Graziano, 30, was axed from the show last week following reports he verbally and physically abused fellow celebrity Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series.
This comes just weeks after Giovanni Pernice, 33, was suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other celebrity exes.
James wrote in the caption of his post as he shared a snap dancing with Georgina: ‘For those of you who have seen the edited BBC VT of me training with Georgina 18 years ago, yes I once had hair!
‘But I just wanted to reassure you that the BBC team filmed and edited material for broadcast on It Takes Two 18 years ago specifically for ENTERTAINMENT purposes.
‘Many of the clips had no relation to Georgina (they are not allowed to do so these days because it misrepresents what really happened) but were included for the purpose of exaggeration.
The clip, which was filmed during the fourth season in 2006, shows him rehearsing with actress Georgina.
He also tells her “I will kill you” while demanding that she stand on one leg and insisting that unless she has physically broken a rib, he doesn’t care how much pain she is in.
She also banned the former Casualty star from eating sweets and chocolate and only allowed him to buy pineapple and ham when they visited a supermarket together.
‘The BBC thought it would be funny to stage this TV show the way they did. You can see Georgina laughing about it in the studio and in clips… And I never got ANY complaints from any of my celebrity dance partners in the 8 years I was on the show.
Obviously, if I had genuinely upset anyone, the BBC would NEVER have allowed those images to be used in that way. The producers loved to paint me as the bad guy and I played along… I was always a perfectionist… but I would never have deliberately upset anyone and I pride myself on having good friendships with my famous dance partners.
‘I strongly advise that no one attempts to link this edition of BBC VT with the alleged current reports of abusive behaviour taking place behind the scenes by other Strictly professionals.
“There is no comparison between these horrific allegations and the exaggerated and highly produced information from the BBC archives that is being published on social media. To be clear, I deplore harassment and abuse in the workplace.”
Jordan, who left Strictly in 2012 after appearing in eight series, also banned Bouzova, who previously starred in BBC medical drama Casualty, from eating sweets and chocolate and only allowed her to buy pineapple and ham when they visited a supermarket together.
This comes after Graziano Di Prima was sacked for punching and kicking fellow cast member Zara McDermott (pictured together in October 2023).
Graziano’s sacking came just weeks after Giovanni Pernice, 33, was suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50.
The video, which emerged just days after Graziano was sacked for allegedly punching and kicking fellow contestant Zara, was shown on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two at the time and introduced to viewers by its then host Claudia Winkleman.
Halfway through the clip, the show cut back to the presenter, who made light of the behaviour by describing Jordan, husband of another former Strictly member Ola Jordan, as “an extraordinary human being”.
The video, which is being shared on social media platform TikTok, begins with Jordan telling Bouzova she was a “force to be reckoned with” before ordering her to “move that f***ing foot.”
Explaining why he’s working the star so hard, he says: “Unless he’s broken a rib, I don’t care… I’ll kill you, you’re standing on your left leg. Unless his feet are bleeding, I don’t care. If they hurt, he dances.”
Appearing surprised by the outbursts of Jordan, 46, Ms Bouzova asked: “I forgot, what are you going to do?”
He replies: ‘I’ll drag you across the floor and then yell at you when you get up…’
Later in the video, Jordan tells Bouzova that she should lose weight. She tells the camera: “Basically, he thinks I’m a bit of a pig,” to which he replies: “I told you no chocolate or chips. Every time I see you, you’re eating chocolate.”
She then asked him if she looked fat, to which he said no, but when she asked him, ‘Do I look like I could do with losing a bit of…?’ he replied, ‘Yes.’
