Richard Madeley warns 'lid is coming off' amid BBC Strictly scandals as he makes stark admission about show
Richard Madeley has waded into the drama surrounding Strictly Come Dancing
ITV/PA
Experienced TV presenter Richard Madeley, 68, has waded in on the current saga engulfing Strictly Come Dancing following the exits of Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice.
Both men have been at the centre of "misconduct" storms regarding their behaviour and conduct in the rehearsal rooms with respective partners, Zara McDermott and Amanda Abbington.
The latter quit the show prematurely last year and claimed to have been left with PTSD after working with Pernice, while McDermott was reportedly "kicked, hit and spat on" during her time on the BBC series.
Pernice has vowed to "clear his name" and denied any claims of "abusive or threatening behaviour" while Di Prima admitted he "regretted" his actions that led to his dismissal as well as claiming "intense passion and determination... affected my training regime".
30-year-old Di Prima also promised fans he'd tell "his side of the story" soon before McDermott issued a statement explaining her fear of "victim-shaming" stopped her speaking out before and that watching footage from her time on the show is now "distressing".
Madeley - whose GMB co-stars Susanna Reid, Kate Garraway, Charlotte Hawkins, Ranvir Singh, Ed Balls and Richard Arnold have all competed on the BBC show - decided to share his thoughts on the saga surrounding Strictly on Thursday morning.
BBC Strictly: Graziano Di Prima and Zara McDermott competed on the BBC show last year
BBC
Appearing on ITV alongside Hawkins, Madeley reeled off a statement from former competitor Richard Coles who claimed "no one is surprised" about the allegations that have emerged in recent months.
Madeley then provided his own insight, with the shock confession: "I have to say that people I know involved in that programme all talk about these issues and they say that they have all known about them for years and years and years...
"But the lid has been kept on it," he added before warning: "But now the lid is coming off."
Madeley was referring to Coles' quotes to Times Radio this week in which the 2017 celebrity contestant said: "I remember somebody who worked on the show for years and years telling me, 'Strictly is a wonderful show with a dark heart'.
BBC Strictly: Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice were also embroiled in a saga of their own
BBC
"And I never really understood what that meant, but perhaps one of the things that meant is what you don’t see, which is how intensely competitive it is.
"I’ve spoken to both contestants and also professionals about it. And I think no one has been surprised that this stuff has surfaced. I think everyone’s just concerned to see that appropriate measures are put in to mitigate it."
GB News has contacted the BBC for comment on Madeley's claims.
The People's Channel's own Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster similarly shared their thoughts on the scandal during Wednesday's Breakfast on GB News.
Eamonn delivered his thoughts by saying: "It has a great feel-good factor. People say there was kicking and stuff, we don't know, we haven't seen it.
"We don't know what determines kicking or whatever. But what I'm saying is, if I told Stephanie [Takyi], 'Come on, come on,' am I bullying her by shouting at that level?
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"Right now, we might not say that, but in five years people will say, actually that's disgraceful - so it's all changing now," he added.
Isabel also weighed in: "Having watched it for 20 years, the standard of dancing now, they're almost professional celebrities every week.
"And so if you are somebody like Zara who isn't a good dancer, she was a sweet girl, but a hopeless dancer, and so there was probably horrific pressure on her.
"And the professional dancers, who are also celebrities themselves, want to be the winners. They want to be back the following year, so it's almost a bit toxic now. They want to be in it to win it."
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