Erin Boag, Anton Du Beke's long-term dance partner, has claimed Strictly Come Dancing stars are warned about what they can and can't say. Speaking on the At Home with Vanessa podcast, she said the judges are "definitely told what they can't say" and face warnings if they don't "run with the trend."
Claims of Strictly's behind-the-scenes rules
Erin, who became Anton's dance partner in 1997 and joined Strictly when it launched in 2004 before leaving eight years later, was asked whether the recent changes to the show had been "difficult" for Anton, who has been part of it since its inception.
She shared: "He is [a purist]. I think he would obviously love to see more of the show of what Bruce [Forsyth] and Tess [Daly] did at the beginning, absolutely. But, he is governed by the people upstairs, so he has to go with the trend, if you like."
She added: "And I'm sure that the judges, everybody, yes, are almost told what to say, [they're] definitely told what they can't say and sometimes they would like to do that. And they have to run with the trend, because if they don't run with the trend, they get warned."
Erin insists warnings are a fact
Asked whether she was making the claims as a fact, Erin replied: "Yes, they get warned, it is a fact. We've been there, we've been told, 'You've got to say this, you can't say that', well hold on a minute because that's happening, but 'you can't say that'."
Pressed for an example of what couldn't be said, Erin said she didn't have one at the top of her head, but reiterated that there are "a lot of things" that can't be said or done "because they have a direction that they want to go [in]." She then thought of an example, claiming the professional dancers often don't have a say when it comes to song choices.
New presenters and other changes
The comments come after Strictly introduced several changes this year, including Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe as new presenters, replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman following their departures last year. Five new professional dancers have also been added to the dance floor.
Reach PLC has contacted representatives for Anton and Strictly for comment. Last week, Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden became the first dancing duo to leave the competition following a dance-off with Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. The remaining 14 pairings will perform this week in the hope of making it through to another week, bringing them one step closer to lifting the Glitterball trophy. Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One.
