‘Arrogant’ professionals also accused of insulting partners and sabotaging them with dull routines
: Robin Lee-Perrella/BBC Studios
Professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing said they wished they hadn’t been partnered with an “old one” when discussing female celebrities over 40, an agent has claimed.
Melanie Blake, who has represented several Strictly participants, claimed “ageism and ego were paramount” on the BBC’s beleaguered flagship show.
On Tuesday morning, Tim Davie, the BBC director general, apologised to anyone who had a bad experience on Strictly, but insisted that hundreds of celebrities had enjoyed their time on the show.
Ms Blake’s clients included Stephanie Beacham, the actress, who appeared on Strictly in 2007 and has in the past described her experience on the show as “hateful”, although she maintained she was still a fan. There is no suggestion that she was referring to her own dance partner.
: BBC
Ms Blake said in a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, that she felt it was time to tell of her own “unbiased experiences”. But she added she would not name the celebrities involved and that it was “up to them if they want to go public”.
Among her allegations was “immediate ageism if the female celebrity was over 40”.
She added that professionals were “actively saying they wished they had ‘not got an old one’ and ‘I’ll never get her to the final’ – all within earshot of the celeb and me which of course was a massive confidence dent before they’d even begun”.
Ms Blake also claimed some professional dancers were “absolutely arrogant” when they were introduced to their partners, saying “they’d never heard of them”.
And she alleged that if they did not believe the partnership would make it to the final they would try “to get voted out as fast as possible so that they could go and do their own work”.
The agent went on to claim some dancers chose songs and routines which were “dull” to “sabotage votes” before making two final, more serious allegations.
She claimed one “incredibly high-profile” professional was “so rough” with her client that she was “injured before they even began and thus couldn’t enjoy it or do her best”.
She also alleged that one Strictly professional had spoken of his attraction to her client and then taken her own hand and placed it on his crotch “to show me he had an erection”.
The allegations are the latest in a spate of claims to hit the show, which attracts about 7 million viewers when it is aired.
: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire
More stories
More from News
More from The Telegraph
