Zara McDermott deafening silence as Graziano Di Prima is dropped from Strictly Come Dancing

Zara McDermott is by far one of the most active celebrities when it comes to updating her followers on social media.

But soon after it emerged that her former Strictly Come Dancing professional partner Graziano Di Prima had been removed from the BBC show, the TV star remained silent. The professional dancer has been dropped over “events” that he reportedly “deeply regrets.”

The bombshell comes after the BBC launched an investigation into Giovanni Pernice’s treatment of his celebrity partners during rehearsals. An allegation of abuse was made against him by Amanda Abbington, which was later backed up by two of his previous partners including presenter, Laura Whitmore.

And so now Graziano’s scandal could not have come at a worse time for the broadcaster. It is believed that his departure from the show is due to claims made about him of “gross misconduct.” Graziano, who was partnered with Zara on last year’s series, told his social media followers he would not be part of the upcoming series that begins in September, despite confirmation of his return in June.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, he 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. While respecting the BBC HR process, I acknowledge it’s only right for the sake of the show that I step away. I am saddened that I wasn’t allowed to offer a quote to the online news stories, and I take on board the sensitivity of the situation.”

He added: “There is more to this story that I am unable to discuss at this time, but I am committed to being strong for my family and friends. I wish the family nothing but success in the future.” A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Graziano Di Prima is no longer a part of the line-up of professional dancers for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing. While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well-known that The BBC has established and robust duty of care procedures, and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate.”

It is believed that Graziano’s departure is based on claims made by those working on the show who saw his alleged treatment of Zara during last year’s series. But Zara, it seems, was not the person to make the allegation. During her time on the show, fans saw how heated their rehearsals were after Graziano shared a video of Zara taking a nap. Clearly exhausted, Zara hit back and said: “Graz just had the audacity to call me and tell me his legs hurt after rehearsals yesterday when he spent 50 per cent of the day sitting down and analysing me doing the routine on my own.”

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