BBC One’s flagship Saturday night show Strictly Come Dancing has been engulfed by scandal in recent times and former pro dancer Janette Manrara isn’t completely surprised. Janette was a dancer on the show for eight seasons before departing to present spin off show It Takes Two.
In the past few months Giovanni Pernice has stepped away from the programme after accusations made by his former partner Amanda Abbington, which he denies. Meanwhile, Graziano Di Prima has also exited after he was accused of kicking and spitting at his 2023 celebrity partner Zara McDermott. He has since said he “deeply regrets” some of his actions although he denies spitting at the reality star.
“I was shocked [by the allegations], because you just never want to hear that. But it is a dance show, it gets physical and it is a competition. There is intensity that sometimes happens in the rehearsal rooms. Everybody wants to do their best. Every professional pushes themselves, but it should always be in a positive way.
“They [the pro dancers] stem from a competitive background. All they’ve ever known is to compete to win, and then they are trying to deliver the best from the celebrity. It’s just such a fine line,” she told The Sun.
Janette herself was dragged into the scandal recently when her former celebrity partner Will Bayley said that there was “no duty of care” after he suffered a serious injury while taking part in the show. The Paralympian suffered a nasty injury in 2019 during rehearsals with Janette.
The table tennis player had to complete a jump with straight knees due to having arthrogryposis, which prevents certain limb movements – but he fell to the ground and immediately felt “horrific pain”.
He tore his knee ligaments in the fall and was ultimately forced to pull out of the series.
Will recently told the aforementioned publication that he had practised a jump a few times and was being “careful” but when Janette said it was “rubbish” he gave it another go which saw him get an injury.
He said, however, that he “didn’t have an issue” with Janette, but added: “Ultimately, I think she was under a lot of pressure by the bosses to perform a certain way and I think it was them pushing me that caused the accident.”
Recalling how the injury has affected his training for his sport, he added: “I’ll never get over that injury – you have it for life.
“I’ve already got a limiting disability but this on top of it. I wake up in the morning and it hurts. I can now only train for a couple hours before it’s sore.”
A spokesperson for Janette said: “Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice.
“Her celebrity partner’s safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly. Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will.”
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