Strictly stars deliver verdict on chaperones for 2024 series
It has been announced that celebrities competing in Strictly Come Dancing 2024 will be chaperoned for their own safety.
As allegations about the conduct of some of the professional dancers in rehearsals have continued to attract increased media scrutiny and debate, the BBC released a statement announcing "additional steps to strengthen welfare and support on Strictly Come Dancing." The corporation said it would "have a production team member present during training room rehearsals at all times."
This announcement has provoked a mixed reaction from the stars of Strictly. Some have welcomed the measure, while others have concerns about how it will affect training and the bond between dancing couples.
Here is what Strictly stars and former pros think about the introduction of chaperones in the rehearsal room.
Craig Revel Horwood
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood has said he thinks having chaperones in rehearsals will be a good thing. The 59-year-old Australian dancer, choreographer, actor and theatre director said chaperones are a normal part of practice in theatre and thinks they will act as "mediators".
Revel Horwood told BBC Breakfast: "I think it's a good thing that the BBC, they are bringing people into the rehearsal rooms, they are mediators. We have chaperones in the theatre all the time, chaperones all the time, especially with children and younger people. We always have that. It's a good thing to have a third eye on the whole situation."
Alison Hammond
This Morning presenter Alison Hammond took part in Strictly in 2014. She has said she had felt "safe and secure" with her partner Aljaz Skorjanec even when rehearsing alone. But she still welcomed the idea of introducing chaperones.
She said on This Morning, discussing the announcement with co-host Dermot O'Leary: "Obviously not, no, I don't want a chaperone, you just want to enjoy yourself. But to be fair there was always people present. Out of the five days training a week you probably had cameras with you maybe three of the days. I had Aljaz and he made me feel safe and secure, he was a brilliant teacher. I loved working with him, I never had any issues whatsoever.
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"But there was always people around filming rehearsals, there was probably about two days a week where I was alone with just me and Aljaz rehearsing. I personally wouldn't mind having a chaperone if it's going to safeguard people."
Ann Widdecombe
Former MP Ann Widecombe has dismissed the idea of Strictly contestants having chaperones, saying they are adults and need to be more "robust". Widdecombe danced on the show in 2010 with pro dancer-turned-judge Anton Du Beke.
She told Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2: "I've lost patience completely. These are all adults, I would take a very different line if it was an 18 or 19-year-old. But these are all adults."
And appearing on Vines' Channel 5 show she elaborated: "The celebrity is in charge, and you can always say, and I did on a couple of occasions, I can’t do that. I can't do that." She added: "If you put yourself in that milieu and you put yourself up for that sort of thing. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm just tired of the cult of victimhood."
Kristian Rihanoff
Kristina Rihanoff welcomed the idea of an independent chaperone in the rehearsal room, saying she had always trained with another person from production present. But she also cast doubt on whether a chaperone provided by the show would be neutral.
The Russian dancer — who starred on the BBC show between 2008 and 2015 — told Lorraine: "To me, yes you can add a chaperone and another person from production. That was the case for all of my eight years - we weren't allowed to practise without being supervised by a cameraman or by the crew with us. They are part of the Strictly crew."
But she added: "So you can add a chaperone but if the chaperones are coming from the BBC, I feel this may be a little bit one-sided. If the cameras are there all the time, you can't get away from what is filmed. There is evidence on the video — I think that should really be plenty."
Edwina Currie
Former Tory MP Edwina Currie — who competed in the show in 2011 — thinks having chaperones might kill the chemistry that leads to romance rumours.
She told Times Radio: "The thought of having chaperones in every rehearsal fills me with dread. I mean, you won’t be able to flirt. You know, what's going to happen to those sort of little glances that make all those special arrangements…"
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone was a pro dance on the show between 2006 and 2013, and he has claimed chaperones were already in place for some couples. Speaking to Good Morning Britain he recalled a couple being chaperoned in rehearsal because they did not get on.
Simone said: "I had the pleasure of choreographing some of the Argentine Tangos on Strictly. And there has been some of the couples, which I'm not gonna mention the names, where actually, when I was in a room with them teaching them the choreography for the week, there was this man in the corner with a with a laptop for the first few days, and I wondered, who is that man?
"And they already had this in place. There was a chaperone in that situation for that specific couple because the couple just didn't get on."
Camilla Sacre-Dallerup
Former Strictly star Camilla Sacre-Dallerup has said she thinks that the chaperones are a "necessary" addition if the rehearsals aren't all being filmed.
The 50-year-old Danish life coach was one of the original Strictly pros and won the Glitterball in 2008 with Holby City actor Tom Chambers before stepping down.
Sacre-Dallerup — who married Hollyoaks actor Kevin Sacre in 2010 — told Lorraine host Christine Lampard: "Given the situation it's probably necessary. Steps need to be taken. In the time I was there everything was recorded. If something happened in the rehearsal room, the producers would be on the phone two minutes later. They would come and talk to you."
Anthony Ogogo
Boxer Anthony Ogogo took part in the show in 2015, the first celebrity to be paired with twice champion pro-dancer Oti Mabuse. The athlete said he was surprised it had taken so long to introduce the policy.
He told Sky News: "In my experience I don't think I needed to [have a chaperone]. I went into Strictly knowing exactly what it was going to be and it was what I thought it was going to be. Although my partner is an actress [Casey Wicks] and she does big Hollywood movies, and when they having kissing scene or intimate scenes they have coaches on set that are there to make everyone feel comfortable.
"This is Strictly Come Dancing, this is a huge show. In light of these claims they could have [chaperones] on set or in certain areas to make people feel comfortable. This is 2024, we're not living in the dark ages. Everyone should feel comfortable. The more comfortable the contestants and the dancers are the better the show's going to be. So I don't know why it's taken such big dramatic allegations for that to be spoken about
BBC bosses
Along with these chaperones the BBC said it would appoint a celebrity welfare producer and a professional dancer welfare producer and deliver further training for the production team and crew. The corporation said in a statement: "Concerns that have arisen in recent months have been fundamentally about training and rehearsals. The actions we announce today are designed to address that."
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One in the autumn.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/strictly-chaperones-2024-205631448.html
