Strictly Come Dancing boss Tim Davie has spoken out about the controversy surrounding the BBC show.
In its biggest scandal in 20 years, top professionals on the show have been accused of gross misconduct by their former dance partners. The BBC launched an investigation into Giovanni Pernice after Amanda Abbington claimed he "bullied" her and used "threatening behaviour" during rehearsals.
Meanwhile Graziano Di Prima was axed from the upcoming series fter he admitted to kicking former Love Island star Zara McDermott.
Davie, BBC's director general, has now addressed the scandal in a lengthy statement as he apologised to fans and confirmed the f future of the show, He began: "Strictly is a wonderful show that brings a lot of joy to a lot of people and has done so for 20 years, to both those involved with the show itself and to the millions of people at home.
"Hundreds of people including professionals, contestants and crew have been part of it and thought it was a brilliant experience. At the same time if someone feels something is wrong and wants to talk about that experience they can raise that with us."
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He continued: "There are limits, the line should never be crossed. We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind meanwhile we do have a great lineup for this year and you’ll hear more about that in the coming weeks.
"I’m very sorry that anyone has had an experience that hasn’t been wholly positive. That is something we do reflect on and I am sorry about that. There are clearly learnings specifically in regards to oversight in the training rooms we have needed to address.
"In hindsight you look at things and say could we have done more? Of course you could. The measures we have taken are an appropriate and fair response."
However, while admitting he was disappointed, he confirmed the series will be going ahead this year and is confident that the right protocols are in place.
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Davie added: "I do believe overall that hundreds of people have come through this show and had a positive experience.I was disappointed. Everyone knows we care about duty of care, we want people to have a positive experience. Our teams care deeply about these issues.
"When you hear about these things, you inevitably are disappointed. The first thing is to be caring and listen to people about concerns. I never discount people who have concerns about how they were treated."
He signed off the statement: "I was keen to ensure the team was responding in a way that I was satisfied so we could ensure that a show that is loved by millions can continue."
Strictly is set to return to the BBC in September.
