Vincent Simone chats about Strictly on Good Morning Britain
Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Vincent Simone and GMB host Rob Rinder were involved in a tense exchange on this morning's programme (July 19).
Dancer Simone appeared via video link in the wake of the news that the BBC would place chaperones in all rehearsals for Strictly going forward. It comes after complaints about professionals on the hit dance show.
Most recently, a spokesperson for former Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima confirmed the pro had kicked his partner Zara McDermott in rehearsals for last year's series. He said that while the star did not remember the incident, he had "apologised at the time."
A statement released on behalf of the dancer read: "This week, the news agenda has focused on an isolated incident that Mr Di Prima deeply regrets and apologised for at the time. The deluge of commentary, too often without context or nuance, has provoked a pile-on that has left a young man in a very vulnerable state. In this case, like in many others, media and social media have immense power to build and destroy careers."
Both Rinder and his GMB co-host Charlotte Hawkins have previously appeared on Strictly. Discussion on the show moved to whether there was a problem with male dancers and their female celebrity partners, rather than female pros with male celebs.
Co-host Rinder described it as a "culture problem" which had plagued a "lovely show." This was dismissed by Simone, who gestured into the camera.
"We do this in Italy which means what are you talking about," he said. "We respect women, women are the most beautiful thing and personally I'm nothing without them."
"Strict teachers, we have them in Italy like we have them in Europe and Russia for example. I know they are very strict and they love it, it is what makes them champions."
Charlotte Hawkins intejected, saying: "It is interesting... some of the discussion has involved the training the dancers themselves go through. Some of it has been more intense over the years."
Reacting to the segment on Twitter/X, one viewer wrote: "This is a wider revelation to those who don't work in the performance world, therefore not confined to Strictly," while another objected to the implication that it was just women subjected to tough training methods, claiming Rinder's line of questioning "didn't land."
