Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been left shocked at unearthed footage said to hint at trouble behind the scenes of the show as the BBC misconduct scandal continues to roll on.
No fewer than eight former contestants have come forward to complain of their alleged mistreatment on the flagship BBC One programme, including claims of ‘aggressive behaviour’ during rehearsals.
The unfolding drama has led to a renewed focus on any controversial moments from previous years, with a number of resurfaced clips now being widely shared on social media.
Fans are particularly aghast at one clip showing professional dancer James Jordan telling his partner he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgets her moves.
A second that has raised eyebrows shows dancer Brendan Cole slapping his partner, Fiona Phillips’, bottom three times during rehearsals in 2005.
Newly resurfaced clips show professional dancer James Jordan berating actress Georgina Bouzova
The clip, which was filmed during the fourth series back in 2006, show the pair rehearsing. Jordan insists the clips are ‘edited’ and ‘exaggerated’
The first clip, which was filmed during the fourth series back in 2006, shows Jordan rehearsing with actress Georgina Bouzova.
He also says to her ‘kill you’ as he demands she stands on one leg and insists that unless she has physically broken a rib he doesn’t care what pain she is in. He is also seen throwing a chair across the training studio.
Jordan, who left Strictly in 2012 after appearing on eight series, also banned Georgina, who formerly starred on BBC medical drama Casualty, from eating sweets and chocolate and would only allow her to buy pineapple and ham when they visited a supermarket together.
The video was shown on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two at the time, with its then host Claudia Winkleman introducing it to viewers.
Half way through the clip the show returned to the presenter, who made light of the behaviour by describing Jordan, husband of another former Strictly pro Ola Jordan, as ‘an extraordinary human being.’
The footage, which is being shared across social media platform TikTok opens with Jordan telling Georgina that he was a ‘force to be reckoned with’ before ordering her to ‘move that f***ing foot.’
Explaining why he is working the star so hard, he then says: ‘Unless she’s actually physically broken a rib, I don’t care…kill you, stand on your left leg. Unless her feet are bleeding, I don’t care. If they’re sore, dance through it.’
Appearing to be surprised by 46-year-old Jordan’s outbursts, Georgina then asked: ‘I forget, what will you do?’
He replies: ‘I drag you across the floor and then scream at you when get up..’
Another video has resurfaced of former professional Brendan Cole slapping his partner, Fiona Phillips’, bottom three times during rehearsals in 2005
Fiona and Brendan pictured during the rehearsal. The clip was shared on spin-off show It Takes Two
Later in the clip Jordan tells Georgina that she should lose weight. She told the camera: ‘Basically, he thinks I’m a bit of a porker,’ to which he replied: ‘I said you no chocolate, no crisps. Every time I see you, you’re eating chocolate.’
She then asked if she looks fat to which he said no but when she asked: ‘Do I look like I could do with losing a bit of…’ he replies: ‘Yes.’
Jordan has furiously hit back against the footage by insisting it was ‘edited for entertainment’ and was ‘highly produced and exaggerated‘.
He said there ‘is no comparison to be drawn between those awful allegations and the VT’ – while insisting none of his celebrity partners ever complained about him during his eight years on the show.
He added: ‘I just wanted to reassure you that footage was shot and edited together by the BBC team for transmission on It Takes Two 18 years ago in specific ways for the purposes of ENTERTAINMENT.
‘Many of the clips were not related to Georgina at all (they are not allowed to do that these days as it misrepresents what actually happened) but were included for the purpose of exaggeration.’
The second video from a year earlier features Fiona Phillips and her professional dance partner Brendan Cole, who was famously axed from the show back in 2018 after 15 years on air, following claims he was ‘difficult to work with.’
Jordan told his partner he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves
The dancer issued a raging statement saying that the footage was ‘edited for entertainment’
The resurfaced footage, which was also broadcast on It Takes Two, shows Brendan calling the television presenter ‘pathetic’. Clips also show him slapping her bottom three times.
In one segment, Fiona asks Brendan to stop shouting at her before saying he ‘looked at me like I was something he’d stepped in.’
The footage varies from playful in parts to dramatic in others.
Commenting in 2020 after Brendan was axed Fiona claimed that her former partner ‘wasn’t very nice’ and that it was ‘karma’ that his contract wasn’t renewed.
The former GMTV and Lorraine presenter told the Daily Star: ‘Brendan was a real b****r, actually. He wasn’t very nice. He was really naughty.
‘He’s not on the show now. Karma indeed. It works its way every time.’
Last year, Brendan revealed that he ‘hated’ working with half of his celebrity partners while he was on the show.
The former Strictly Come Dancing dancer spoke about what it was like when he didn’t get on with his partners on the show and admitted that he had ‘two’ experiences with it.
The professional dancer told The Mirror: ‘I’ve had that twice really strongly, where we couldn’t even be in the same studio together.
‘I really enjoyed working with half of them [the celebs on Strictly] and I really hated working with the other half. 60/40 and I’m not sure which way that goes either.
Brendan was partnered with Fiona during the show’s third run, in 2005
Brendan was famously axed from the show back in 2018 after 15 years on air, following claims he was ‘difficult to work with’ (pictured in May)
He previously admitted to MailOnline that he felt the BBC show ‘only wanted to show one side’ of him.
While taking part in Dancing On Ice, he said: ‘Strictly only wanted to show one side to me.
‘And they really pushed that side of me. There was very much a narrative that the show went with for 15 series. And it was tiring because it was actually not me.
‘As you can see I like a bit of fun. I muck around a lot and that wasn’t shown very often and I think it has been shown more on this show.
‘And I am very pleased for the way it has been for all of, we have been shown in really lovely lights which we are And it has been a really great experience.’
New Zealand-born Brendan began as a dancer with the original Strictly cast in 2003. He was the first-ever professional to win the Glitterball trophy with Natasha Kaplinsky and was there for 15 years afterwards.
