Watch moment Fiona Phillips breaks down in tears over Strictly’s Brendan Cole before his foul mouthed rant on camera
FOOTAGE of more upset between Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers and their celebrity partners has emerged.
This time it’s footage from 2005 that sees ITV broadcaster and journalist Fiona Phillips left in tears whilst rehearsing with partner Brendan Cole.
The pair took part in the third series of the show, before exiting on week four after repeatedly earning low scores.
Yet footage from their rehearsals has now been unearthed as attention is focused on the BBC dancing show following allegations of bullying and behaviour from professional dancers to their celebrity partners.
In the footage from It Takes Two, an agitated Brendan can be seen fuious at dress rehearsals as he swears and launches into a foul mouthed rant at cameras as he tells them to ‘stop f*****g filming me’.
He asks them to ‘get the cameras out of my face’ and ‘don’t you know when to f**k off’ as the Australian dancing pro appears stressed out behind the scenes.
In another part of the show, broadcaster Fiona is seen breaking down into tears as she rehearses with Brendan. She tells the camera in a solo confessional that the professional was ‘looking at me like something he had stepped in’.
At one point Brendan is seen telling her to walk out as the couple’s dance rehearsals reach a tense point.
The rehearsals were also clouded as it was claimed that at the time time Brendan had told a newspaper that Fiona was ‘the worst partner he had ever had’.
Whilst Brendan is not part of the allegations, there has been scrutiny over the entire show and its past series and celebrity partnerships.
The unearthed footage comes as Graziano Di Prima had his Strictly contract terminated following allegations he “hit, spat at and kicked” Zara McDermott during rehearsals last year.
The allegations against Graziano came to light during the inquiry into claims that Giovanni bullied his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington on the last series – which he has strenuously denied.
The BBC had widened that investigation to look into the treatment of other dancers, which led to the examination of rehearsal footage between Graziano and Zara.
An insider said: “As part of a wider BBC investigation reports of Graziano’s behaviour came from multiple third-party sources — with multiple reports of physical and verbal abuse.
“Zara was seen stressed and upset at rehearsals and other celebrities were aware but no one reported it at the time.
“As soon as it came to light the BBC took swift action.”
They added: “Graziano is said to have kicked, spat at her and hit her and there is a shocking video of one incident. Bosses have been shocked by what they have discovered.”
Graziano broke his silence after his exit was announced and spoke of his “deep regret” over the damning claims.
Moments after the BBC confirmed his sacking — Graziano shared a statement on Instagram, announcing his exit.
The statement on Instagram read: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly.
“My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
“Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.
“While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.
“I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future. I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.”
