Strictly Come Dancing star reckons there should be ‘more bullying’ on show
Even though she 'loathed' her time on the show.
If there’s one thing Strictly Come Dancing hasn’t been short on in recent years, it’s controversy—especially when it comes to alleged bullying.
The scandal was first ignited when Amanda Abbington accused Giovanni Pernice of ‘toxic’ and ‘degrading’ behaviour while she starred on Strictly in 2023.
Graziano Di Prima was also accused of misconduct against Zara McDermott, and an internal investigation was launched. Both Italian dancers denied the accusations, while findings upheld several complaints against Giovanni but cleared him of the most serious ‘physical aggression’ allegations.
In the months that followed, several other former Strictly stars came forward, alleging mistreatment—but one celeb in particular has now voiced her support for ‘more bullying’.
Stephanie Beacham participated in Strictly in 2007 and was paired with professional dancer Vincent Simone. They were eliminated second.
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In a new interview, the 78-year-old actress expressed her views on what kind of mood she’d expect in a training room.
The actress took part in the 2007 series and was paired with Vincent Simone (Picture: PA)‘How else do you learn to dance? I taught dancers for a term or two. These were dancers who weren’t going to be good enough, so I gave them acting lessons because they were going to do panto and stuff like that,’ she began to MailOnline.
‘But dance teachers can be punishing horrors.
‘I didn’t have any bullying on Strictly; I think I should have had a bit more!’
‘You’ve got to have a competitive nature for Strictly, which I haven’t,’ she confessed.
Stephanie added that the glittering world of Strictly and performance competition shows like it are ‘a ghastly business.’
Stephanie, 78, has previously said she ‘loathed’ her Strictly stint (Picture: BBC)‘I got on terribly badly.’
The Dynasty star also recalled being voted out of Strictly, having done just one routine before being given the boot.
She found herself in a dance-off against Letitia Dean with a quickstep—but ended up rooting for the EastEnders icon instead.
Stephanie described her bottom two experience as ‘the most humiliating thing’, comparing it to ‘like doing a sixth audition for a part.’
‘It’s awful,’ she declared. ‘So while we were waiting, I said to Letitia under my breath, “Go for it, because I want out!”’
Amanda Abbington launched a series of damning allegations against Giovanni Pernice last year (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)This isn’t the first time Stephanie has slated her Strictly stint, having said last summer that she ‘loathed every minute’, particularly as it involved ‘working dawn til dusk’.
The latest series of Strictly finished in December before several cast members and pros hit the road for a nationwide tour.
During the arena tour, however, Strictly was hit by more drama as Wynne Evans was removed from the lineup.
The 53-year-old GoCompare opera singer was axed after being caught on camera making an inappropriate comment during a photo call with other stars.
He made a joke about having a threesome, or ‘spit roast’, with presenter Janette Manrara. The BBC told him that such behaviour would not tolerated.
Comment nowDo you agree that there should be ‘more bullying’ on Strictly?Comment Now Wynne Evans was axed from the 2025 tour after making inappropriate comments (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)The Welsh radio host later issued an apologetic statement before stepping out of the spotlight.
Just last week, it was reported that the ‘stress’ of the events is still ‘weighing heavily on [Wynne’s] mind’.
As a result, an insider claimed to The Sun that a meeting he was due to have with bosses had been ‘postponed’ until he ‘gets his head straight.’
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