Production staff who used to Strictly Come Dancing have complained about a toxic work culture and accused the BBC of not taking their complaints seriously, in a new setback for the broadcaster's primetime show, The Observer reports.
One former staff member claimed they had been subjected to sexist and sexualised comments, including probing questions about their sex lives, while another claimed they had witnessed "talented colleagues being treated cruelly".
The employees' complaints span multiple series and date back to 2016. A third staff member, who worked on the show eight years ago, claimed the work culture they experienced was "tense, toxic and uncomfortable".
A BBC Studios spokesperson said: "The welfare of our crews working on every series is paramount, Strict is always of the utmost importance to us. We act quickly when concerns are raised and we have thorough, effective and long-term processes in place to manage them." They added: "We do not recognise claims of a negative workplace culture."
The past weeks Strictly Come Dancing has become the subject of intense scrutiny following allegations of behind-the-scenes misconduct by several of its professional dancers. Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima have left the show following allegations about their behind-the-scenes behavior.
Pernice strongly denied allegations of "threatening and abusive behavior". Di Prima admitted through his spokesman that he kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal and said he "deeply regretted" the events that led to his departure. His spokesman added that it was "absolute nonsense" that one incident was typical of what happened during "weeks and weeks of training".
Video footage from previous series has also surfaced showing other professional dancers shouting at their female dance partners.
Reverend Richard Coles, who took part in the show in 2017, said a veteran Strict A staff member told him that the dance competition is "a beautiful show with a dark heart."
BBC Director General Tim Davie last week praised Strict as "a beautiful show that brings a lot of joy to many people and has done so for 20 years".
But he added: "At the same time, if someone feels like something is wrong or they want to talk about their experience, then of course you want them to bring that up with us. And have no doubt that we will take it seriously, listen and address it appropriately."
Until now, the focus has been on the dancers and their celebrity partners. But the Observer spoke to several former production staff who expressed concerns about the way they and some of their colleagues were treated. They said the problems went beyond rehearsals and the behavior of professional dancers.
A former staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said they received inappropriate comments on set in 2022 from another, more senior staff member. They allege they were subjected to sexist and sexualised comments, including intrusive questions about their sex lives that made them feel "uncomfortable" and explicit sexual comments about the female dancers. They claimed the behaviour "crossed a line". Observer has seen contemporaneous WhatsApp messages confirming his account.
When they checked the procedure for making a complaint, the staff said they should report their concerns to the Film and TV Charity, an organisation that supports workers behind the scenes.
"It was incredibly frustrating," the former employee said. "It left me at an impasse. It felt a bit blasé - handing over responsibility to a charity rather than to the company that employs all these people."
A document from 2022, viewed by the Observer shows that BBC staff and employees on temporary contracts were referred to an external whistleblowing line if they had concerns about the working environment, while employees on freelance contracts were referred to "support through our partners at the Film and TV Charity, including whistleblowing services".
However, the charity said: "The charity is not intended for whistleblowers."
BBC Studios said: "There is a single whistleblowing service within the BBC Group which is independent and run by a third party and is accessible to everyone - both staff and freelance colleagues. Everyone is given the details of the Film and TV Charity support line, not for whistleblowing, but for the purposes of additional resources and support."
A member of the production team, who also wished to remain anonymous, claimed that the work culture they experienced on the show in 2016 was "tense, toxic and uncomfortable". They added: "The disconnect between what you see on screen and what goes on behind the scenes is huge."
A third source, who worked on multiple series of the show, highlighted problems with the programme's management. "In recent years we have seen talented colleagues being treated cruelly, incompetence rewarded and egos left unchecked. Some are demanded to obey completely, while others are given absolute freedom," they said.
"It's heartbreaking to see the show being tarnished. Most of the people working on the team have put their heart and soul into their work for years, but unfortunately the current senior team has let us all down big time."
In a statement, BBC Studios said: "The wellbeing of our crews working on every series, Strict is always of the utmost importance to us. We act quickly when concerns are raised and we have thorough, effective and long-term processes in place to manage them.
"The show is a fast-paced live TV production environment that has attracted hundreds of people from the industry to work on it who have had a positive experience, so we do not recognise the allegations regarding a negative work culture - or that there are flaws in our whistleblowing policy.
"In 2022, we announced the introduction of our industry-leading initiative The Pledge across all of our productions, including Strict who proactively encourages everyone on our sets to raise concerns about inappropriate behaviour through a number of channels, including anonymously to Navex Global, an external whistleblowing service independent of the BBC and BBC Studios."
