‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Fired Pro Giovanni Di Prima Denies Kicking And Hitting Celeb Partner
deadline.comThe Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer fired by the BBC following allegations that he had kicked his celebrity partner has given his first interview, saying that he never assaulted his partner, and that the “vile, false allegations had ruined his life in a matter of minutes.” Graziano Di Prima was fired from the show after claims that he had assaulted television presenter Zara McDermott during rehearsals for last year’s season.
The allegations included kicking, hitting and spitting, and Di Prima made a public apology on his departure, saying that his competitive training regime had sometimes led him to make mistakes.
This weekend, in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper from his native Italy where he has returned to live, the dancer says: Di Prima was a popular professional dancer on the hit BBC show for six years before his abrupt departure.
He now says he is determined to dance professionally again, and for this controversy not to define the rest of his life. The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie made a public apology a fortnight ago after several contestants on the long-running show went public with their concerns about their treatment behind the scenes.
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