Strictly Come Dancing bosses break silence on gender split as fans slam line-up

The chiefs of Strictly Come Dancing have responded to backlash concerning the line-up for the show's 22nd season. After much anticipation and controversy, the full cast of the BBC One show has finally been revealed, despite accusations of misconduct faced by certain dancers, including Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima.

Di Prima has been cut from the show whilst an investigation is currently underway regarding Pernice, which has recently been confounded by new evidence brought forward by his former dance partner, Amanda Abbington. There has been criticism over the chosen celebrity dancers by loyal fans of the long-standing show, prompting bosses to defend their decision.

The audience of the show has particularly noted the disproportionate gender representation in the line-up as only six women versus nine men will take to the stage.

Earlier reports highlighted this being the "fewest" number of female celebrities that Strictly has enlisted, resulting from the bullying probe casting a cloud over the series.

As the line-up was incrementally revealed, numerous people voiced their concerns on various social media platforms, including Twitter, with one user notably stating: "Too many men if true. Why are these producers / Booking exec so afraid of all female pairings?"

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One viewer expressed their disappointment, chiming in with: "Really not feeling the #Strictly line-up this year. Especially the unbalanced 9 men 6 women ratio", and another added: "The lack of women and big names is a bit disappointing.", reports the Mirror.

Meanwhile, a Strictly spokesperson emphatically defended the choice of celebrities to Metro.co.uk and stated: "We are really excited about this year's line up and look forward to the series starting"

They also added: "There are many factors that influence the casting process to ensure we have a good mix of celebrities from a broad range of backgrounds. There is no hard and fast rule regarding the gender split on the show and it's never been about ticking boxes."

This comment follows recent revelations that the Strictly bosses are apprehensive about potential backlash due to an ongoing investigation into bullying allegations within the team, assessing how issues were addressed.

An insider shared: "The probe will look at whether producers heeded the warnings that someone may have been struggling and what was done about it," while cautioning "It's difficult to see how the BBC can emerge from this without any blame whatsoever but time will tell. There are always learnings from things like this."

Further, Sherlock actress Amanda was invited for more questioning last week when additional messages were requested. A representative for the star claimed: "Amanda shared additional messages at the request of the BBC. She has fully cooperated with the review and will continue to do so."

While Graziano Di Prima has confessed to accidentally kicking Zara McDermott backstage, receiving sympathy from former dance partner Kym Marsh, Giovanni Pernice has categorically denied any allegations made against him by Amanda.