Over Amanda Abbington’s bullying accusations, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has spoken out about why he backed professional dancer Giovanni Pernice.
Last year Strictly Come Dancing was thrown into a world of chaos after Amanda Abbington sensationally made allegations of bullying against her Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice. At the time Giovanni was forced to step down from his position amid an in-depth investigation conducted by the BBC.
And while the world looked on as Amanda and a number of former contestants revealed their own experience of alleged inappropriate behaviour by Giovanni, one person who stood by the Italian dancer’s side was Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, 60.
He stated in an interview that he was still friends with Giovanni and that this was a contentious decision. He trod on a toe, according to one critic.
He continued, “Well, I’m sorry, but that is going to happen. I’ve accidentally dropped girls while teaching them to dance and accidentally broken their ribs. My fingers have broken while performing lifts.
Giovanni was cleared of all allegations of physical aggression while Amanda, who is best known for her role in Sherlock, was given an apology by the broadcaster at the time.
The Strictly judge continued, telling The I Paper, that while he is a firm believer in complaining if a celebrity was abused during rehearsals, ballroom dancing is a skill that comes with its own difficulties.
He argued that celebrities should be made aware that “they are being challenged to do something they haven’t been trained to do.”
According to him, “every contestant has to be taught in a different way depending on their mental state at the time. Not psychologists work with the professional dancers. They are unable to always ascertain what is happening.
Everyone is unique, but sometimes it takes a strong argument to succeed. Then you declare, “Now we’ve got fire!” We now have passion! Keep your muscles tension! He continued, “We can tango now, darling!”
New policies had been put in place by October of last year to prevent further allegations of power abuse.
Samir Shah, the head of the BBC at the time, said: “I can’t stress enough that I’m fully committed to tackling inappropriate or abusive behavior. Most of us enjoy working for the BBC, and that should apply to everyone as well.
Samir continued, “Nobody working for the BBC should ever experience fear or worry while doing so.” I now understand that everyone should be able to enjoy the BBC as a safe, secure, and welcoming place.
On the back of Zara McDermott’s admission that her partner Graziano Di Prima had kicked her in rehearsals, the BBC decided to include a member of the Strictly production in all rehearsals.
Welfare producers are also included in a number of measures designed to end a “toxic” environment.
Craig, who goes by the name of Mr. Nasty, is scheduled to begin his nationwide tour of Revelations and claims to be one of the few celebrities who can be seen on the BBC show.
He admitted, “I’m not afraid to come out and be seen for who I really am, having been bruised and battered.”
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Source: Mirror
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