With only six women set to star in the upcoming series, viewers think there’s a big reason for the male-dominted cast

STRICTLY Come Dancing fans are claiming female celebs have ‘dropped out’ of the show after Zara McDermott’s abuse surfaced.

Love Island star Zara, 27, spoke out last month about the BBC show, claiming her dance partner Graziano Di Prima, 30, had hit, spat at and kicked her during rehearsals last year.

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Strictly think female celebs have ‘dropped out’ of the show after Zara McDermott’s abuse surfacedCredit: zara_mcdermott/Instagram
It resulted in the Italian choreographer being sacked from the programme.

And, with only six women set to star in the upcoming series, viewers think there’s a big reason for the male-dominted cast.

Taking to Reddit, one wrote: “I do wonder if the scandal has affected this very uneven lineup. I will say unfortunately this doesn’t look like a great lineup.”

A second agreed: “I do wonder if they were originally on the lineup but pulled out when the scandal kicked off.”

Another posted on X: “This #Strictly line up so far is really giving last minute replacements of bigger celebrities who have dropped out because of all the allegations……”

Someone else wrote: “Will this go down as one of the worst line ups in history… I am really starting to think they had big people signed up who have dropped out recently because of the shows allegations.”

One more concluded: “Guessing a couple of people have pulled out of #Strictly from the announcements so far. Probably not the year to do it.”

When Strictly graces the small screen again next month, it will have the fewest female celebrities in the show’s history.

The Sun revealed today Gladiators star Fire — real name Montell Douglas — and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland are the final stars to sign up for the BBC Saturday night dance contest.

Tasha Ghouri, Toyah Willcox, Montell Douglas and Sam Quek are also on the billing.

Males taking part include Chris McCausland, Jamie Borthwick, Nick Knowles, Pete Wicks, Paul Merson and JB Gill.

But while they bring the total number of women celebrity dancers on the show to six, there are nine men taking part.

That means 40 per cent of celebrities in this year’s show are women, while in most years it has been roughly a 50/50 split between the sexes.

Last month, we told how Zara had broken a leg bone in a tough training session during the show last year.

The documentary maker suffered from a severe ligament damage and a stress fracture on her left tibia.

Zara, who only recently revealed the injury to the show enquiry, had no idea about her injury and danced on in pain until they were booted off the show.

An insider explained: “Zara had started getting injured in the build-up to the Halloween dance then something went on the morning, meaning she danced with a fractured leg all that week.

“It was a literal horror show in every sense of the word.”

Sources close to Zara, who was in a moon boot earlier this year, said: “She started developing a really bad, niggly pain in her left leg at training. The pain got worse and by the last few weeks, she was in agony, popping painkillers before, during and after sessions.

“She made Graziano aware of her discomfort but he was pretty adamant they needed to crack on.

“Obviously they both wanted to get the highest scores possible, and unfortunately she pushed through the pain.

“She wasn’t seen to by medics on site, and production weren’t aware of the extent of her injury.

Graziano Di Prima – Strictly statement in FULL

GRAZIANO Di Prima has addressed his Strictly Come Dancing sacking with a statement on social media – see the details below.

In a statement shared to his Instagram page Graziano wrote: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.

“Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.”

He continued: “While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.

“I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future.”

He concluded the post: “I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.”

“By the time of her last dance, she was in a lot of pain and limping through the moves.

“She can’t watch it back as it brings back too many agonising memories.”

The insider went on: “It was only after she left the show, and the pain became agonising, that she was referred to hospital and a hairline stress fracture was ­discovered in her tibia alongside ligament damage.

“Zara didn’t want to make a fuss, so didn’t alert anyone at the BBC until two weeks ago.”

The show only found out about it two weeks ago amid the inquiry into dancers’ behaviour on the programme.

Graziano was sacked from Strictly this month after admitting kicking Zara once at rehearsals.

He has since returned to his normal job, working for £6 an hour on a farm in his native Italy.

A source told us: “Graziano has lost everything.

“He is in pieces and filled with remorse. He knows, quite rightly, there is no way back for him in showbiz in the UK. His Strictly dancing career is over.

“He’s fled back home and is living on a farm, earning a pittance, and throwing himself into manual labour.

“He says he is literally living next to some cows- it’s an astonishing fall from grace.”

Strictly’s full scandal so far

Strictly Come Dancing’s scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what’s happened so far

16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.

17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.

16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.

8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.

10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.

13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.

Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”

15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.

16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.

19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.

21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.

22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.

22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.

23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.

23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.

23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.

“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”

24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.

27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.

She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.

28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.

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Zara claimed Graziano Di Prima hit, spat at and kicked her during rehearsalsCredit: PA

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Sam Quek is signed up for this year’s seriesCredit: Rex

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So is Gladiators star Montell DouglasCredit: Getty

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Toyah Wilcox will grace the dancefloor as wellCredit: AFP

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Sarah Hadland is on the billingCredit: Getty

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Tasha Ghouri has joined the show tooCredit: Instagram