‘I warned soap stars about Strictly abuse – and made a complaint years before scandal’ reveals celeb super-agent
TOP celeb agent Melanie Blake has claimed she warned soap stars about abuse on Strictly – and even made a complaint years before the current scandal erupted.
The PR guru and author, 47, recently explained that she attended the studio a number of times and was left horrified by some of the pros behaviour.
This included one incident where she claimed an unnamed dancer “put her hand on his crotch” after making sexual comments about one of the celebrities – despite being married.
After she was asked by an X follower why she had kept silent until now, Melanie explained that she had, in fact, taken the issue up with BBC bosses.
She wrote: “I never said I didn’t report it to anyone – I said I’d never gone public – big difference- btw and I mean this in the nicest possible way- if you don’t work in TV you just can’t ever underestimate how it works – as for clients – they make their own choices and yes I did tell them in advance.”
Melanie previously told how an unnamed dancer once “put her hand on his crotch” after making sexual comments about one of the celebrities – despite being married.
She shared the shocking moment in a lengthy post on her X account along with other claims – saying she witnessed “ageism”.
Melanie wrote: “The following is what I personally witnessed – pro dancers being introduced to their celeb partners being absolutely arrogant and saying they’d either never heard of them (and I’m sure they knew who they had because the ‘meet’ vt is about the celebs surprise at which pro they got – not the other way round – so they clearly couldn’t even be bothered to read the bios.
“Immediate ageism if the female celeb was over 40 – actively saying they wished they had ‘not got an old one’ and ‘I’ll never get her to the final’ – all within in ear shot of the celeb & me which of course was a massive confidence dent before they’d even began.
“Actively – if they didn’t like the partner they had / believe they would make the final – trying to get voted out as fast as possible so that they then could go and do their own work – ie photo shoots and promo about them so effectively ruining the celebs chance.”
She also claimed that one pro had been so “rough” with a celeb that it resulted in an injury prior to the start of the show.
“One incredibly high profile pro being so rough with our client that she was injured before they even began and thus couldn’t enjoy or do her best – same pro wanted to be out to focus on his career,” she went on.
The publicist added: “why no one including me has revealed these things earlier is probably because we don’t want to shatter the illusion of a show so many love – but now I’ve heard what I witnessed wasn’t isolated – I feel it’s only fair to the celebs currently wanting to be believed – that my own actual experience backs up their accounts.”
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We will not be commenting on individuals or engaging in speculation.
“However, as we have said previously we will always listen if people want to make us aware of something or raise it with us directly and we have appropriate procedures and processes in place to manage this.”
On Monday, The Sun reported how a number of celebrities who had competed on Strictly over the years had clubbed together in WhatsApp groups to discuss the ongoing scandal.
Giovanni Pernice quit the BBC show after he was accused of clashing with Amanda Abbington, claims he vehemently denies.
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
Graziano Di Prima was fired earlier this month after it was revealed he had kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.
Insiders said the BBC were looking to shake up the format next year, with a potential cull of some of the professional dancers.
A TV insider said: “There isn’t much they can do to change the line up for this year’s crisis-hit show, but the feeling is that Strictly needs to make a fresh start in 2025.
“There’s the fear that being on the show leaves them more open to feeling entitled and untouchable.
“So for many of the pros turning up for rehearsals this week, it may be their last time.
“It’s not a done deal, and it’s not just going to be a case of the oldest or longest-serving being shown the door. It would be a carefully considered process, with other factors taken into account too.
“The fact that the BBC are even considering making big changes and bringing in fresh blood is a sign of how keen they are to move on and make every effort to ensure nothing like this happens again.
“That could mean saying goodbye to some of the best-known pros — both male and female — but when it comes to Strictly, nobody is ever bigger than the show.”
