dancing pete
Zara McDermott breaks silence on Pete Wicks signing for Strictly despite Graziano row
The former Made In Chelsea star often jokes about being in a "throuple" with Pete
ZARA McDermott has broken her silence on Pete Wicks signing up for Strictly, despite her own show scandal.
Love Island star Zara, 27, spoke out last month about the BBC show, claiming her dance partner Graziano Di Prima, 30, had hit, spat at and kicked her during rehearsals.
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It resulted in the Italian choreographer being sacked from the programme.
But, while she didn't have a positive time on Strictly, she's hopeful Towie star Pete, 36, will.
A source told : "Zara is so happy for Pete landing the Strictly gig.
"Her experience on the show was so individual – she hopes no one will go through the same again.
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"She knows that Pete will have an amazing time and could even impress the judges, he's incredibly hardworking and a good person, and will thrive in the environment, which can be intense, but he performs best when he's challenged and under pressure.
"Zara doesn't want anything that happened to her to taint his Strictly journey and backs Pete even if it is a bit close to home."
The former Made In Chelsea star often jokes about being in a "throuple" with Pete, since he's best friends with her her boyfriend, Sam Thompson, 31.
Last night, The Sun revealed that Zara had broken a leg bone in a tough training session during the show last year.
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The documentary maker suffered from a severe ligament damage and a stress fracture on her left tibia.
Zara, who only recently revealed the injury to the show enquiry, had no idea about her injury and danced on in pain until they were booted off the show.
Former Towie star signs for Strictly Come Dancing in his biggest TV break yet
An insider explained: “Zara had started getting injured in the build-up to the Halloween dance then something went on the morning, meaning she danced with a fractured leg all that week.
“It was a literal horror show in every sense of the word.”
Sources close to Zara, who was in a moon boot earlier this year, said: “She started developing a really bad, niggly pain in her left leg at training. The pain got worse and by the last few weeks, she was in agony, popping painkillers before, during and after sessions.
“She made Graziano aware of her discomfort but he was pretty adamant they needed to crack on.
“Obviously they both wanted to get the highest scores possible, and unfortunately she pushed through the pain.
“She wasn’t seen to by medics on site, and production weren’t aware of the extent of her injury.
“By the time of her last dance, she was in a lot of pain and limping through the moves.
“She can’t watch it back as it brings back too many agonising memories.”
The insider went on: “It was only after she left the show, and the pain became agonising, that she was referred to hospital and a hairline stress fracture was discovered in her tibia alongside ligament damage.
Graziano Di Prima - Strictly statement in FULL
GRAZIANO Di Prima has addressed his Strictly Come Dancing sacking with a statement on social media - see the details below.
In a statement shared to his Instagram page Graziano wrote: "I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
"Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it's best for the show that I step away."
He continued: "While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can't 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 in the future."
He concluded the post: "I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story."
“Zara didn’t want to make a fuss, so didn’t alert anyone at the BBC until two weeks ago.”
The show only found out about it two weeks ago
Graziano was sacked from Strictly this month after admitting kicking Zara once at rehearsals.
He has since returned to his normal job, working for £6 an hour on a farm in his native Italy.
A source told us: “Graziano has lost everything.
“He is in pieces and filled with remorse. He knows, quite rightly, there is no way back for him in showbiz in the UK. His Strictly dancing career is over.
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“He’s fled back home and is living on a farm, earning a pittance, and throwing himself into manual labour.
"He says he is literally living next to some cows- it’s an astonishing fall from grace.”
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for "gross misconduct" after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he "deeply regrets it", adding his "intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime."
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were "amazing to work with", she found the rehearsal room "completely different", confirming there's footage of "certain situations".
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his "1970s attitude" and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a "p***" after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef's Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is 'deeply sorry', adding: "Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
"At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate."
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