Strictly Come Dancing couple reprimanded by concerned BBC ahead of live show
A Strictly Come Dancing couple has been reprimanded by BBC bosses just ahead of Saturday's first live show.
The broadcaster is trying to be as transparent as possible with the public as it continues to deal with the fallout from two of its former dancers being accused of bullying their celebrity dance partners.
One of the policies it has reportedly put in place is having assigned people to monitor couples during training so they are never left alone.
The other is to ensure that contestants put videos of their training sessions on social media often to give the public more behind the scenes insight, but from the star's perspective.
The BBC also believes the added promo will help to bring in more viewers, which is in big need following launch week - September 14 - debuting with one million less viewers compared to last year's.
Pete Wicks and his dance partner Jowita Przystał are preparing for their debut on the show, tomorrow night, September 21, but have already landed in trouble.
The pair have been hard at work in rehearsals for their first performance on Saturday, but their lack of social media activity has not gone unnoticed.
Wicks took to Instagram to address the situation, admitting they had been told off by producers for not sharing updates like the other couples.
"We've been told off because we haven’t done any social media together from rehearsals," Wicks said on his Instagram story. So today we’re going to do a Q&A.
“You can ask Jowita and me anything, and we’ll answer your questions during breaks. There aren’t many breaks, but we’ll do our best."
The duo will perform a paso doble to Breathe by The Prodigy for their first live routine, which was announced during the pre-recorded launch show.
In another Strictly drama, pro-dancer Ian Waite has faced backlash after telling the BBC to stop hiring Italian dancers.
Waite, who is no longer on the ballroom show, made the suggestion amid a bullying scandal involving former cast members Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.
Pernice, 34, left the show in April following accusations of bullying from his celebrity dance partner, Amanda Abbington. He has denied the allegations.
Di Prima, 30, was also dismissed from the show after admitting to kicking his partner, Zara McDermott. Speaking on the Stripping Off With Matt Haycox podcast, Wait said: "Well, there's a link. They're both Italian. And, a little bit of advice – don't book Italians anymore."
Waite, 53, also claimed he wasn’t given guidance on how to train celebrity partners. "One of the problems is that, as pro dancers, we weren't given any safeguarding rules or guidance on how we should behave with our celebrity partners.
"What's offensive or abusive if there are no clear guidelines? We had to figure it out ourselves," he said.
The BBC declined to comment.