Kristina Rihanoff, who was a Strictly pro from 2008 to 2015, explains how the atmosphere can get highly charged during training sessions. She says, “I’m shocked about what happened – I feel so sorry for Zara. She should never have had that experience. Her dream has been shattered in a cloud of abuse.
“There is a lot of pressure that comes from within the professional dancers. They are from a really strict, competitive background. They want to be the best and win the show.
“When new professional dancers join Strictly, they typically have no experience in teaching, and they don’t understand how to teach people with different abilities. Their only vision is to do the most incredible performance and push the celebrity at all costs.”
Kristina continues, “There’s nothing wrong with being strict and firm, but they shouldn’t make their partner struggle. I changed the choreography with my partners if I realised it was too ambitious. There’s no point drilling them or abusing them. Hiring young dancers with no teaching ability is dangerous – it should be about the celebrity looking good and having a good time.”
During her eight years on the show, Kristina’s partners included Jason Donovan, boxer Joe Calzaghe and Blue singer Simon Webbe – where she got her best result, coming second in 2014.
“Since I started in 2008, the show has developed so much. It’s got more and more extreme with so much expense in production, theatrics and elaborate costumes. This all adds to the pressure – it produces much more drama and tears,” she says. “All the dancers were exhausted by the final – tired from the hours of training and we were emotionally drained.”
Worryingly, she believes that the incidents surrounding Graziano Di Prima, Giovanni Pernice and a third unnamed pro could be just the tip of the iceberg.
“Everyone wants to talk now – I wouldn’t be surprised if more bombshells come out. It’ll really open the floodgates!”