Sacked Strictly dancer Graziano Di Prima to SUE the BBC: Star says broadcaster failed to 'support and help' him with his behaviour after bosses warned him about his treatment of Zara McDermott

The BBC has vowed to fight back after it was revealed that Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima is taking legal action against the broadcaster.

The Sicilian dancer, 30, was axed from the show last week over reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during last year’s series.

Di Prima believes he should have been ‘supported and helped’ with his behaviour after bosses warned him about his treatment of former Love Island star Ms McDermott, 27. But a BBC insider told the Mail: ‘Why would any workplace, particularly one paid for by the public, offer support to someone who acted in an undoubtedly abhorrent manner?’

Di Prima, who allegedly ‘kicked and hit’ Ms McDermott, argues that he was not given any advice on how to deal with the pressure of competing in the show.

A friend of the professional dancer said yesterday: ‘There are questions over their [the BBC’s] procedures, and how they operate behind the scenes. He [Di Prima] believes that there is a lot of pressure on professionals to get nines or tens to entertain the audience.’

This paper revealed today that Strictly production staff raised concerns about Di Prima’s conduct last year, but bosses only went as far as to issue quiet warnings to him.

The group expected him to be sacked instantly. They are said to be furious that their complaints were ignored, meaning the abuse towards Ms McDermott was allowed to continue. Di Prima was even signed on for the upcoming 2024 series of Strictly.

A source from the show said: ‘There were multiple occasions where both physical and verbal attacks were made. It was more physical than verbal, but all of it was dreadful.’

It was not until staff got hold of a video allegedly showing Di Prima repeatedly hitting Ms McDermott – nine months after their initial complaint – that he was fired.

They presented it to BBC HR executives investigating dancer Giovanni Pernice, following claims from his 2023 partner, actress Amanda Abbington, that he bullied her in training. 

Pernice denies the claims and quit the show last month.

Addressing his exit from the show, a ‘devastated’ Di Prima wrote on Instagram over the weekend: ‘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.’ Yesterday the Mail revealed he has hired a lawyer and publicist in a bid to come out of the scandal as unscathed as possible.

Ms McDermott, who now presents documentaries for the BBC, is said to have been ‘too frightened’ to put a complaint in at the time, but is co-operating with investigators at present.