Former junior production staff on Strictly Come Dancing have described a “toxic” culture on the show, alleging incidents of bullying behaviour by some of the performers.
Speaking anonymously to BBC News, one former runner, ‘Oscar’, said junior staff were “stressed out” on the show and that he was called “stupid” for asking someone for a handover.
He described one celebrity contestant flying into a rage when he gave them simple instructions before the show.
"He was shouting and he was so close up in my face, I had to close my eyes as his spit flecks were hitting me," he said.
Despite the celebrity’s subsequent apology, this was “the last straw” for Oscar, who left soon after. “The whole culture was toxic, particularly for junior staff,” he said.
Several of the 15 current and former members of staff interviewed by BBC News echoed recent public comments from celebrities including Amanda Abbington and Zara McDermott about their experiences with some of the dancers on the show.
“There was a lot of shouting backstage,” said ‘Anika’, who described one male dancer – who has since left Strictly – treating people in an “insane” manner.
“The way he spoke to women, including female dancers and junior staff, was disgusting and chauvinistic. We’d be warned about working with him.”
‘Jane’, who worked on companion show Strictly: It Takes Two, described junior staff telling her about “verbal abuse”, with some dancers shouting, screaming and insulting crew.
"Whatever mood the dancers were in, would dictate how your day would go," she said.
The staff members said they did not feel empowered to complain and described a culture in which they were told they were “lucky” to be working on such a high-profile show, with one describing the production team as feeling they are “untouchable”.
BBC News also heard of more positive experiences, with choreographer ‘Katie’ and beautician ‘Laura’ both saying they had not seen any of the kind of behaviour being reported.
A BBC Studios spokesperson said they did not recognise the claims, adding that nor will "hundreds of production personnel" who have worked across the two decades the show has been on air.
"The welfare and safety of our crew on each series has always been, and remains, our utmost priority,” they said.
BBC Studios applies its values statement The Pledge to all of its productions. “We proactively encourage everyone on set to raise concerns of inappropriate behaviour via several avenues, including anonymously to an external third-party whistleblowing service independent of the BBC/BBC Studios,” the spokesperson said.
"We act speedily when any issues are raised, and have thorough, effective and longstanding processes to manage them - and we’re sorry if anyone didn’t feel able to talk about their experience on-set at the time.”
Bectu response
Bectu is pursuing the issues raised with BBC Studios, with the union's head Philippa Childs branding the reports "very concering".
She added: “Everyone should be able to do their job free from any form of harassment. And in a sector where power imbalances can be particularly extreme, it’s critical that people feel empowered to come forward with concerns (and without fear that their careers will be adversely impacted), and can have confidence that allegations will be taken seriously, investigated and dealt with swiftly, and perpetrators held to account.
“The pressure of working on a high-profile show like Strictly can be immense and broadcasters must have appropriate measures in place to ensure a safe and respectful experience for everyone working on the production. These behaviours are by no means exclusive to one show or one broadcaster."
Childs said it is particularly important for freelancers to feel they have "meaningful protections" in the workplace and noted the BBC's commitment to supporting the development of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority.
