Amanda Abbington and Strictly.

[PriamFarrl]

I never watch Strictly, but it seems that her being on it is causing some conflict.

I did a quick look but couldn’t see a thread.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/strictly-come-dancing-fans-divided-27466760?fbclid=IwAR1iNqoQHvU6tlsap3W1iWz7oG81Sp0Qimp81rzzd5XAU9fB4NLm_LgE47w_aem_AWkW94vOg0i7vw4ncasDUMNwbDACoxFIhz_Dsisy4LT9Nv0k-aEB-k7pqbT5hptMzeU#ll00z8fhy5yfgk5qz3

I am so disappointed in Graziano. He was always so bright and smiley. Yes, of course they want to win, but at what cost?

Sharetoken for the Times article:

https://www.thetimes.com/article/320cb25d-1638-453d-a740-32059ff3d2a9?shareToken=70627ac76b7d9d144219cc9e1813c427

It tells of a worrying possible story about a toxic atmosphere where the pros were under such pressure and so terrified to lose their jobs, they turned to whatever desperate tactics they had to. And about the producers and staff who must have known about it, and either actively encouraged it or turned a blind way.

And about the producers and staff who must have known about it, and either actively encouraged it or turned a blind way.

Why ever any of the (male) professionals behave like this, the BBC employees are responsible because they chose them take of the role of teaching a celebrity.

They should have made it clear to them, its a family show, its entertainment, its not about your ego and male competitiveness. Behave, and if you cant we will make sure that at all times you have guardian as they need to do for children in the acting profession.

Given all the other messes the BBC has had because of lack of professional care, and their sycophantic attitude to tv stars, you would think they would have worked out a better way of safeguarding members of the public.

Essentially the same dynamic at the BBC for 50 years or more. Every single scandal, and there have been so many, they've brushed under the rug or tried to suppress.
Ditto NHS Post Office etc.
One of my greatest hopes under Labour, is that management are held to account.

Very sad and very disappointing.

I felt so sorry for Amanda when I read that article. She's already been through a lot, with her divorce, and then her new partner having life-changing injuries. She must have thought that going on Strictly would be enjoyable and also give her career a boost, and instead she was treated really badly. It's awful, if not surprising, that she's received such horrific abuse from Giovanni fans.

The BBC seems very much at fault to me. They must have known what Giovanni is like, because previous celebs matched with him had been unhappy too. It's incredible that they don't apparently keep tabs on how the professional dancers are treating their partners in training. I think it's awful that when she raised her concerns with them they seem to have just dismissed her outright instead of investigating.

Haven't read the piece yet, but I think this issue has a definite relationship to the hype within the show that we always complain about on the Strictly threads on here – mark inflation, constantly going on about 'when will we see the first 10', 'the standard is higher than ever', and of course having people on like Layton and previous years' pro or almost-pro dancers.
I can well imagine that, if you're a pro and you have someone who's not an out-and-out duffer (in which case you'll court the comedy/sympathy votes instead), you'll feel under immense pressure to get them to be good enough.

To be clear, I'm NOT trying to excuse any individuals' behaviour; and I'm very aware that it's all male pros who've been named, and very few of them at that, and none of the women. But I do think the vibe of Strictly has become less and less about 'having a go' and getting points for trying, and more and more about setting high standards for itself/its contestants and trying to raise them year on year, to the detriment of viewer enjoyment (IMO) and of course to the detriment of those celebs who end up on the wrong end of their pros' ambitions and/or 'old-fashioned' teaching styles.

I think the production team needs to take a long hard look at the show and how they present and hype it.

The joy of previous series was when a non dancer discovered that they could dance. People like Mark Ramperkash (?) and the rugby player (?) that danced with Oti.

The young cameraman wildlife presenter.

There's no joy in seeing someone who has danced for a living learning and perfecting a new style of dance.

There's always going to be grey area, with stage school kids and pop singers who hip pop to music.

But essentially the joy is in the newsreader, the shy person, the cerebral person, learning to express emotion through dance.

How typically male - "His camp has claimed it was he who asked for practices to be filmed after becoming concerned about her “unstable behaviour”."

I wonder why they have procrastinated with Giovanni but Graziano was straight out of the door. Damage limitation?

Hamza 😍😍😍

Why dont you read the piece first and then you'd be a bit better informed.

That comes across as rather rude.

What about my post do you particularly disagree with and maybe we could discuss it?

I think there is video evidence of Graziano assaulting Zara. The articles I have seen reference hitting, kicking and spitting, although it’s not clear which of these is on camera.

Im so sorry, Mark...

It’s possible that Graziano’s case has been under investigation for several months, but we only know about it now that it has been resolved, with his sacking.

Sacked Strictly dancer Graziano Di Prima to SUE the BBC: Star says broadcaster failed to 'support and help' him with his behaviour after bosses warned him about his treatment of Zara McDermott | Daily Mail Online

Graziano is allegedly going to sue the BBC because they didn't support him with his (abusive) behaviour. You couldn't make it up.

More like the women partnered to him by the BBC should sue the BBC for pairing them with someone who doesn't know how to behave.

And for not sacking him once his behaviour became know.

I dont know what's worse. Thinking only the BBC could behave as badly and irresponisbly as this. Or thinking this probably happens in most tv and film production companies.

This has an interesting take that talks about how bullying is sometimes considered a normal part of dance training:

Bullying in the ballroom? Strictly Come Dancing’s dark side

www.thetimes.com/article/01b30404-7e33-441d-b36a-cf9f87dbd872?shareToken=c25f321b083ab4950bf8734a009d941f

I can't 'hear' your tone on-screen, so I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean/what your point is.

I think you make good points, @MarkWithaC. The standards of Strictly are very high and, while the dancers are often not trained in true dance technique but instead perform a routine, the pressure is still on to turn a non-dancer into someone who looks like a pro very quickly. There is only so much you can do to hide a non-dancer's lack of experience or ability and, combined with the pressure to win and create a TV spectacle, that risks creating a very toxic situation.

I'm not excusing bullying at all but from my own experiences (posts above) I'm not surprised at all to read what sometimes really goes on. I am glad it's being dealt with and hopefully it will make the dance world take a good look at itself.

If you read the earlier part of the thread you will see that some PPs have spoken about this.

But still raises the question why it every became normalised.

And continue into the 21st century.

Strictly to give stars chaperones after complaints
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gkrlvkyno

I did read the earlier part of the thread - that was why I posted it. I was continuing the conversation.

Good article.
Production and whistleblowing needs to change.
Chaperone makes sense only if in position of power like an intimacy coordinator because if reports are to be believed, there was a young production assistant in the room when Graziano was being abusive.
3/5 days filmed with cameraman, 2 days alone (at least when Alison was doing it) so unless he saved his frustrations for those two days, how was it not picked up if filmed? Unless cameras installed 5/5 but fast-forwarded.
But if he was a bully knowing cameras were on, what was he like with them off?