Zara McDermott ‘struggled’ with exposing the truth about her time on Strictly Come Dancing last year, sources close to the star have told Closer.
The reality star was partnered with Italian pro Graziano Di Prima and last week it was revealed that he’d been axed from the show following claims he’d kicked and spat on Zara during rehearsals. He admitted kicking but denied spitting.
The Sicilian dancer, 30, has publicly apologised after he was accused of physically and verbally abusing Zara – leading to an investigation by BBC officials.
And sources have now revealed that there was a good reason why Zara, 27, was worried about coming forward at the time.
“It’s been a real struggle for Zara deciding whether to open up about her experiences with Graziano.
“She dreamt about doing the show for years and having finally been given the opportunity there was no way she was going to mention anything during filming. She was terrified not only about potentially jeopardising her position on the show, but also of any long-term damage to her reputation or even a public backlash.”
Another source adds, “Signing up for Strictly was the best moment of her career but it quickly turned into a total nightmare. What happened in the rehearsal room will haunt her forever. She would placate Graziano a lot, but in the end the bullying just got worse and worse – it became relentless. For a long time, she tried to put a brave face on things. But her smile was a mask for how she was really feeling.’
Earlier this year several former Strictly contestants came forward to claim that their experiences on the show were ruined by their partner Giovanni Pernice, who was last week said to have split from girlfriend Molly Brown following a ‘string of heated rows’.
Now show bosses are fearful that more scandals about the pros could emerge. “The public outing of Giovanni has given Zara the confidence to speak out of her own experience. She is now one of the BBC sweethearts as part of their presenting family so she feels she has the backing and support she needs.”
Concerns were reportedly raised by junior production staff about Graziano’s behaviour at the time of the incidents, but the details remained under wraps until now.
“There have been lots of tears, lots of dark moments, and lots of emotion,” our insider reveals. “Making the complaint has been so difficult. It’s like reliving a nightmare and all the emotions she went through have come flooding back over the past few weeks. Her friends, family and Sam [Thompson], in particular, have been amazing.”
In a statement, Zara said, “Strictly is one of the most magical shows on TV and one that I dreamt of being on since I was a little girl. When I was invited to be a contestant on the show it really was a childhood dream come true. I fully understood the level of commitment and hard work that Strictly was going to be and I dedicated everything to it.” She added, “However, my experience inside the training room was very different.”
Graziano – whose past partners since he joined in 2018 include Kym Marsh, Judi Love and Vick Hope – announced his shock exit after video footage appearing to support the claims emerged. “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,” he wrote on Instagram.