Sam Thompson made a great gesture of support for Zara McDermott by breaking the silence on the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex Come and dance in a pinch dance partner, Graziano Di Prima.
Sam and Zara, who began their romance in 2019, recently faced split speculation after she was noticeably absent from family photos.
Rumours have been circulating about “crisis talks” following a violent row that reportedly led to Zara packing its bags last month.
Despite the turbulence and Sam’s apparent distress, it seems that they are working to repair their relationship. The tension is partly attributed to their hectic professional lives, which leave them with “little quality time.”
Their relationship had already hit rocky ground when Zara confessed to being unfaithful to Sam in 2020, the Mirror reports.
In a show of solidarity, the Made In Chelsea personality has now publicly supported Zara via social media, as the former Love Island contestant is currently surrounded by reports of the alleged “repeated abuse” she suffered at the hands of Graziano Di Prima on the BBC dance show.
It was alleged that Graziano subjected her to spitting, kicking and beatings.
Despite what seemed like an ideal friendship between Zara and Graziano, she is said to have “suffered in silence” throughout her time on Strictly.
Until Saturday evening, the 27-year-old continued to follow the dancer on Instagram, but following the abuse allegations made public, Zara quickly unfollowed Graziano on the platform.
Sam has now followed suit and unfollowed the Italian dancer as well. The move comes after the BBC announced on Saturday that Graziano would no longer be part of the line-up for the upcoming series, a decision he attributed to “events” he “deeply regrets”.
The BBC apparently received reports of incidents involving Graziano, leading to Zara, who had not initially reported the incidents, being invited to meet with executives to give his version of events.
It is worth noting that shortly after being summoned by senior management, Graziano was fired, with a source close to him saying: “That was it.”
BBC executives were reportedly shocked by what they saw in the footage, leading them to take swift action by sacking Graziano for gross misconduct. People who saw the footage were reportedly so moved that they broke down.
A source told the Mirror: “As soon as it was screened it was over for Graziano. His Strictly career was dead and buried and there was no going back.
“Everyone was shocked when the footage was released and our thoughts went to Zara who was clearly suffering in silence. The key then was to act quickly, which they did.”
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Graziano Di Prima has taken to Instagram to discuss his exit from Strictly Come Dancing and the controversy surrounding it.
He expressed regret over the circumstances that led to his departure, telling his 247,000 followers: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly.
“My intense passion and determination to win may have affected my training schedule. Whilst respecting the BBC’s HR process, I recognise that it is entirely right, for the good of the show, that I step away.
“I am saddened that I was not allowed to quote the news articles online, and I am aware of the sensitivity of the situation.”
He went on to hint at further complexities behind the scenes: “There is more to this story that I can’t discuss at the moment, but I am determined to be strong for my family and friends. I wish the Strictly family nothing but success in the future.”
The BBC issued a statement on the matter: “We can confirm that Graziano Di Prima is no longer part of the line-up of professional dancers for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.
“While we never comment on individual cases, it is well known that the BBC has robust due diligence procedures in place, and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly if necessary.”
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