Ex-Strictly star paired with Graziano Di Prima breaks silence on scandal

Kym Marsh has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding Strictly Come Dancing after her former dance partner, Graziano Di Prima, was removed from the show.

Last month, Graziano Di Prima was dropped from the BBC series following an investigation into the show’s rehearsals. This probe was initiated due to complaints from Amanda Abbington about Giovanni Pernice.

Di Prima’s removal came swiftly after accusations surfaced, suggesting he kicked Zara McDermott during the series last year. However, this alleged footage has not been made public, and the exact circumstances remain unclear. Addressing the claims for the first time on August 10, Di Prima described them as “vile” and “false.”

Kym Marsh, who was partnered with Di Prima in 2022, expressed her surprise at the allegations when questioned about the scandal.

“I’m reluctant to talk too much about someone else’s experience,” she told The Sun. “I had one of the best times of my life doing that show, and it was amazing.”

“I didn’t have any experiences like we’ve heard. It definitely, definitely did not represent what I had experienced, no.”

Reflecting on the incident that led to his firing, Di Prima told MailOnline, “You can’t imagine how many times my mind has been going back and forward trying to think of something that happened all those months ago that I can’t figure out.”

“The only thing I can think of is the time I kicked the floor in frustration. We’d practised hour after hour to perfect a routine with lifts. It wasn’t easy, but that’s the pressure of the show. I was in pain from lifting her so many times but wanted to get it right. I thought I could save her [from elimination].”

“I wasn’t meaning to kick her. I’d never, never do that. My foot brushed her after I kicked the floor. Afterwards I hugged her and said I was sorry. There was no problem. We carried on.”

He added, “I’m not a monster. I’m not an abusive man.”

Meanwhile, Amanda Abbington has been “questioned again” about her experience with Pernice after the arrival of new evidence. This new information reportedly includes texts that Abbington had not previously shared with the BBC.

Source: The Sun, MailOnline