Amanda Abbington and Strictly.

I'd say that definitely is bullying as he's singling one person out for humiliation.

I think he knew who she was and what she could do from the start. I saw an interview where she talked about their first meeting and apparently he said to her ‘Go home and stretch!’, so he clearly knew she had the training and years of fitness/flexibility immediately.

Re. Debbie McGee, Gio seemed slightly in awe of her ability vs. age once it became evident and he treated her respectfully.

I suspect he initially thought he'd been paired with an early boot. Had she had no previous dancing experience and been the typical shaky 'older female contestant', i.e. typical Anton-fare back when he was a pro I imagine Gio would've had limited patience.
Hard to say for sure but just a vibe. When he realised he had a contender and they had the support of the public (Debbie's 'national treasure' status) he fully leant into it.

I found his partnership with Richie really sad. I was no great Richie fan but felt disappointed on his behalf. Had he been paired with a different pro he'd likely have had really fun memories and lasted another week or two (there were plenty of other duffers).

I have a friend who later in life as it were has taken up line dancing.

She lives in a town, and in fact there is only one class which she signed up to (partly to find a way to get out of the house )

And she is really enjoying it, never done anything like it before, but nearly didn't go on with it because the male teacher is just awful. eg d because she is so much a complete novice he picks her out saying things like "sorry dear (pointing at my friend) you better not try this" even though others are also starting out.

Not quite the same as bullying but definetely taking advantage of him being in charge.

Anyway she has started to out wit him, by in facting catching up with routines by looking at online tutorials.

But honestly. This was / is meant to be just a bit of light relief as home life isn't brilliant, and she ends up having to play all these mind games, with this idiot.

Oh yes @IwantToRetire I completely agree. It shouldn't have been like that at all. I see that now. I started dancing in 1985 aged 3 and yes, 15 years of conditioning to believe that sort of behaviour was normal. She didn't single me out either, which is maybe why I thought it was normal. We were all in the same boat really. Even the naturally good dancers like my sister were reduced to tears!

She was never physically abusive like what Gio allegedly was, it was all verbal. It hurt though and I do look back and wish I'd told her to shove it. And you're right, this type of teaching should have died out at the end of the 20th century and has no place in an entertainment show.

it was awful what my teacher did to me but it got the results.

There is no way that you can know that she / you wouldn't have got the results if you have been treated in a more supportive way and with kindness and encouragement.

It is almost like those who go into teaching think it was done to me so I am going to do it to my pupils.

It really is a hangove from 19th century attitudes and seems strange that it has survived more in the arts than elsewhere. (Just think how many films have been made about this sort of pupil teacher relationship.)

I wonder if it is because there is all this pretentious maestro glorification.

But in fact irrlelevant.

This is a tv entertainment show, and the BBC and producers should have known better.

Well, I'm sorry for the younger you - 15 years of being bullied is horrendous.

My dance teacher was like this. I cried every week in her class because of the way she taught; I'd hold it in until I got to the toilet or at home or in the car but it was a weekly occurrence of bursting into tears.

I wasn't a natural dancer like my sister and I tried so hard but never quite got up to her natural dancing level. However, I stuck at it until I was 18, passed all my tap exams with highly commended and took part in all of the semi professional shows.

I remember one of the shows (my last show actually as I was heading to university after that) I danced my socks off; I'd been practicing so hard as my teacher had been so harsh with me that I wanted to prove to her I could do it. She watched from the sidelines and when I came off she told me she was proud of me and had only watched me the whole time. That was the only time she ever complimented me and I'd been dancing with her as a hobby once a week (upped to 3 times a week during show practice) since I had been 3.

It was a weird feeling to hear her say that after so long and so much criticism. I think after that I let it go, I didn't care anymore and stayed for only a couple more months. She'd freed me with that comment.

So I can understand why Debbie McGee isn't complaining; she would have been used to that style of teaching. When you are a child you think it's normal, so become conditioned to it. I can totally understand how shocking and traumatic it must have been for grown adults with no dance training and no knowledge of these methods. I get how bad they would feel thrown into that environment. I'm not condoning it btw; it was awful what my teacher did to me but it got the results.

It's documented why many didn't speak out at the time - the Strictly Bubble/we are family indoctrination/this is an opportunity others would love - means they feel that pressure not to kick the boat, but I suspect all the leaks from the past have been true or leaked on purpose to either bring people into line or get them eliminated.

~ Georgia May Foote - ended up shagging
~ Laura Whitmore - Georgia's friend - paired after their split (not originally)
~ Debbie McGee - ex dancer used to hard training
~ Faye Tozer - rumours of clashes but also dance trained
~ Michelle Visage - gave as much as she got (rumours of rows at time)
~ Ranvir Singh - got together with crew member/showmance with Gio
~ Rose Ayling-Ellis - will have had interpreter there throughout
~ Richie Anderson - rumours they didn't get on (Richie hurt, he was a stan)
~ Amanda Abbington - denied rumours at first (feuding leaked early)

Well, that's the thing. Gio has had 9 partners.
He hasn't got progressively worse or more ambitious as there were rumours abound with partners 2, 4 and 5 well before 8 and 9.
Nor has he been under more pressure really, given he'd already been a finalist 3x before finally winning the . He was a fan favourite (not mine but I was a big fan of Brendan, who had his fare share of clashes too). Lulu springs to mind.

I gather now she didn't enjoy the experience but Ranvir would never have got as far as she did (the semis) if she'd had, say, Anton (he was a guest judge by then but you know what I mean). Gio I assume pushes them to their limits. Now that does need addressing way before the chemistry tests, what the contestant wants from their partner. That's why some deliberately chose Tony Beak as they knew he'd be gentle/throw them a comedy routine if they were crap/let them have afternoon tea (yes, Jerry Hall, I do mean you!)

If the BBC had done their matches properly and put safeguarding in place years ago (they have benched pros ffs, why not team-teach?) you wouldn't be having all this twenty years on. Some slebs have palpitations even now, when a song or the theme comes on - Rachel Riley and Zoe Lucker have both said this before.
It will be interesting how the pros themselves all feel going into the next series. They'll all be looking at their teaching styles (nurturing?) (authoritarian?) and aiming for no conflict. But even if you teach firm but fair/warm-strict, it's human nature that from time to time there is going to be tetchiness: fatigue, illness, hangry, news stories in the press.

It's going to mean everyone's on egg-shells, more than usual.

Me too, it was sickening. And oddly shot through for her and the others with ‘well why didn’t they say something at the time?!’ when it’s quite bloody obvious given the vast onslaught of bile and abuse that saying anything at all is an act of monumental braveness.

Oh and also the next level thickness / obtuseness of ‘how can you get PTSD from a dancing show?’ on repeat.

I'm very pleased to see the 'nasty attention seeking woman' framing has finally stopped.

Depp had a UK libel case before the US one, so presumably it's the lawyer from that case. I must admit I thought Depp lost that case though?

Surely Depp's lawyer is American and any case brought would be under English jurisdiction.

Interesting. And he's hired Johnny Depp's lawyer! I hope this doesn't become another circus.

I saw that.
It was such a lovely finale too. Just no need.

@IwantToRetire I’m just giving the perspective as someone who has danced in that sort of world. Most teachers aren’t like that, tbh, especially nowadays (although there is a fine line between teachers who push you, and those who push too far - ultimately if you want to improve you need to be pushed) and I’m not excusing those who are, but it might explain why Debbie McGee would have found him easier to dance with, especially as she would have done her ballet training quite a long time ago.

I don’t disagree that Strictly is a TV show, celebs aren’t there to become professional dancers etc etc, but it’s a big deal nowadays to be on Strictly, so the pressure is on, rightly or wrongly.

Steve Backshall complained to producers about Ola and asked for a chaperone.
There may have been issues with Karen and Will Young not expecting it to be so gruelling.
Finally, never a complaint made, but Oti was known to be a taskmaster.