The hugely popular Strictly Come Dancing has been slammed with complaints in recent months with former contestants reporting mistreatment and abusive behaviour at the hands of their professional dance partners.
The recent storm of criticism kicked off as Giovanni Pernice officially left Strictly after nine years on the programme over his alleged "militant" approach - he has vehemently denied claims about his conduct on the show. Pernice left after his dance partner Amanda Abbington lodged an official complaint against him. Just weeks later Graziano Di Prima was axed from the show - this time BBC bosses reportedly decided to get rid of the dancer after seeing footage of a "kicking" incident with celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
However, Strictly bosses may be attempting to deflect attention from the show’s troubled past by bringing back Aljaz Skorjanec to the programme. PR expert Carla Speight explained: “Strictly need his return. They’ll be hoping it distracts from the complaints and incidents of abuse from other dancers toward celebrities like Zara [McDermott], Amanda [Abbington] and Laura [Whitmore].
"Aljaz is a fan favourite and an OG of the cast and Strictly bosses will be hoping his return brings a boost to the ratings and a positive distraction from what could be the start of the end of Strictly,” she told the Express. The professional dancer will return to Strictly this autumn after a two-year break.
Aljaz will join 14 other professionals for the 20th anniversary of the show. The BBC announced that it would introduce measures to "strengthen welfare and support" on its popular entertainment show, including a chaperone who will be present "at all times" during training room rehearsals.
BBC's director general Tim Davie addressed speculation over the show's future, saying it would continue and apologised to celebrity contestants who say they were mistreated. It was recently confirmed that Strictly would be back on screens sooner than people expected.
The BBC's 'Be in the Audience' website has confirmed: "Strictly Come Dancing is back! The stunning 22nd series returns, bringing glamour and show-stopping dancing back to Saturday nights on BBC One." Hosted by the glamorous Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, alongside judges, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse, the show will once again come live from Elstree Studios with a one-off special from the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool."
The dates of the shows, which fans can snap up tickets for are then listed as follows: Elstree Studios: September: 21 and 28, October: 5, 12, 19, 26, November: 2, 9, 23, 30 and December: 7 and 14. Tickets for Blackpool are available on Saturday, November 16.
Tickets for the shows will be allocated by random draw and can be applied for up until September 2 at 10pm. Fans can apply for a maximum of one pair of tickets per recording and if your application is successful you will only receive tickets for one show. Folk are also asked to apply only if they intend to be the named ticket holder.